Plagued
by Redfeatherz66
Summary: in every meaning of the word.  T for gore and blood, and minor language- no lemons. Whump. NOW COMPLETE.
1. Cry For Help

**WARNING: this story may contain some themes that could be deemed 'adult'. There aren't any bedroom scenes, though- barely any kissing, either. There is lots of blood and gore. Some graphic scenes. Lots of blood. If you're a hypochondriac, beware. If you love disease and Doctor whump, and arguments and illness and romance, and 11****th****/River and Amy/Rory, then keep reading. **

**There might be some medical technical terms here that people don't know very well- I'll try to add definitions in italics at the bottom if there's any jargon you don't understand. Ask questions in a review if you get confused. And here you go: Chapter 1 **

Amy stared out the window. It was a beautiful day, in a dark, powerful, thrilling sort of way. There was a clear storm front coming, an abrupt change from pale blue skies to a furious, roiling black-gray tide. It was moving in slowly, purposefully. There were foggy points visible on the horizon where the rain was thick and heavy, as well as the occasional distant rumble or flash, but where Amelia Pond sat on the window seat, the sun still shone bravely. But Amy wasn't looking out at the storm. She was just staring, looking through it all to something only she could see.

"Look at that. I just shut up all the windows upstairs, and unplugged the computer in case of a surge," Rory said, sitting beside her. She didn't seem to notice. "What's wrong? Oh, God, you're sick, aren't you!" he moaned. "I brought you to that restaurant, and you told me the chicken looked funny, I am so sorry-,"

"No, I'm not sick," Amy interrupted. "Just… thinking."

"About… Him? I don't think he's coming back. It's been ages… almost a year and a half now. No notes, no shout outs from history, no letters or funny little things that he does when he leaves… He's really gone this time," he said gently.

"I know. I just…" she shook her head, unable to express herself and frustrated at that. "I know."

"But he did it for us, remember? He did it to save our lives. We all knew, it was only a matter of time. What he said… about his old companions. We're with the very, very few who are still whole," he reasoned, stroking the back of her hand.

"I know, but that doesn't make me feel any better about it. I know it was for our own good, but I still miss it. All of it, even the near-death experiences. The monsters, and aliens, and mysteries, and the TARDIS, and River, and him…" she trailed off, looking away.

"He's not coming back. We've got to accept it," Rory said boldly, but it was clear that despite his words he, too, didn't want to accept it, couldn't accept it.

"I can't." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "I'm the 'girl who waited'. I waited for him, for twelve years, then two more years. A version of me at the quarantine waited for almost forty years. He might leave, he might promise to not come back, do whatever he can to make a clean break, but I'll always be waiting. The girl who waits," she said bitterly. "I want to stop waiting, thinking about him. I know he's coming back. I know it's in our best interests to live normal lives, on earth, living in a timeline that moves straight and consistent, but I can't help it. I'm still… waiting."

Rory put his arms around her and pulled her into his shoulder, where she burrowed her face gratefully, hugging him back. They remained there, taking comfort in each other's presence, until the first drops of rain fell.

"This looks great! Much better than that restaurant. I'm still shocked we didn't get food poisoning after all," Amy said cheerfully, sitting down to dinner. Rory, thoughtful, loving, eager-to-please Rory, had cooked one of her favorite meals- homemade alfredo pizza with olives, bacon, and jalapenos. "And you even made that thick wheat crust! You're the best," she gushed, kissing him loudly on the cheek. He blushed furiously, but smiled. "You always know exactly how to cheer me up. I only wish I was as good as you."

"Honestly, this," he said, gesturing to her smile and kissing her back, "is all I need to be happy."

"Aww, you," she laughed, ruffling his hair. Amy quickly polished off her first piece, while Rory worked slowly and diligently at his first. He loved how much of an appetite Amy had. Some girls poked at their food and turned up their noses at anything. Amy didn't worry about what she ate. She didn't overindulge, but she ate what she wanted, when she wanted it. He, on the other hand, had the appetite of a bird, eating slowly, and somewhat picky about what he ate. His Roman experience had reduced his pickiness exponentially, but he still didn't eat a lot.

Just as Amy was sitting down after retrieving a third piece, there was a frantic hammering at the door. Amy and Rory looked at each other.

"We have a doorbell, don't we?" Amy asked, not sure why it was significant, but confused nonetheless.

"Yes." The hammering returned, louder.

"Coming, coming!" Amy shouted, tossing her napkin on the table and going to answer.

"Wait!" Rory said, jumping up after her. He grabbed his sword from the coat closet beside the door. Amy raised an eyebrow and he shrugged. "After what we've been through?"

"True. Be ready, then," she said, and threw open the door.

River Song stood on the threshold. This time, she was wearing a mottled lavender dress, a thick black belt emphasizing her hourglass waist, and a pale yellow scarf. Her eyes were wild, one side of her hair flat as though she'd been pressing her hands to her head for an extended amount of time, which by itself was alarming, since she was quite vain and _always_ had time to do her hair and makeup perfect.

"River-!" Rory started happily, lowering his sword.

"Oh, God." Amy covered her mouth with one hand, eyes huge. But she wasn't staring at River's face, or mashed hair. She was staring down, at a place beside River's hip. Rory followed her gaze and let out a small gasp.

"You've got to help me," River begged, holding out her hands. They were stained almost to the elbow with blood, dripping from her fingertips onto the front steps. Amy and Rory were speechless.

"I don't know what to do."

**Two don'ts:**

**I don't own Doctor Who.**

**I don't post before three reviews.**

**If you can't think of something to review, then tell me what you love. Tell me what you hate. Any out of character tendencies, or things that don't quite fit. Predictions of what's going to happen are great too. Or just tell me to hurry the heck up.**


	2. Red Tide

**By the way… this takes place after the God Complex. I don't own the Doctor. I don't post until I get at least 3 reviews.**

**Beware- here there be blood. Apologies- I have a bit of an infatuation with the stuff. Needles, blood drives, shots, vaccines, pathology- all things that I can be found around. Hope you don't squirm too much.**

**Pathology jargon at the bottom.**

_"You've got to help me," River begged, holding out her hands. They were stained almost to the elbow with blood, dripping from her fingertips onto the front steps. Amy and Rory were speechless._

_ "I don't know what to do."_

"The TARDIS just appeared in my cell. The guards came running, but I got in. I knew something was wrong immediately- he never lands in my cell, 'for politeness sake', he always said. And he didn't come out and greet me, just landed. The door was unlocked, but then, it always is unlocked for me. I went in, not sure what to expect. Certainly not this," River said briskly, leading Rory and Amy to the TARDIS, which was parked, haphazardly, half on the curb, half off. "I don't know what to do- he's never told me about anything like this. All I know is that we're safe from it. I am- the Silence did one good thing for me, and that was to create a vaccination for this and administer it to me. And you are, because you're human. Just… don't touch him." The familiar blue doors opened, and despite the situation, Amy and Rory felt a spark of joy, stepping over the threshold, getting a sudden feeling of returning home after a long vacation.

"He's right here," River said, leading them around the center control hub. They got about halfway around, and saw him. Both Amy and Rory stopped in shock, before Rory ran forward, sliding onto his knees to kneel beside the Doctor's prone form, nursing training kicking in. Amy stayed where she was, about eight feet away from the man she'd waited for 14 (15 and a half, now) years for, hands over her mouth.

He was lying on his side, arms lying in front of him, legs slightly bent. It was a natural position, as if he was sleeping. But it was immediately obvious that he wasn't just taking a nap on the floor of the control room (which she wouldn't have been surprised at). His skin was white as parchment, and looked dusty as well. His lips were bright red, and his eyes had dark gray and purple rings around them, like an addict or someone who hadn't slept in weeks. His eyes moved sightlessly under their lids, yellowish crust in their corners. His hair was matted with sweat, and as she watched, a drop ran down the side of his face, just in front of his ear. A red rash spot scabbed from beneath his left eye to his cheekbone, and she could see more patches on his arms and neck. But the worst was the blood- scarlet red, on his hands, the front of his shirt, even his bowtie. It was in a puddle just in front of his head. At first, Amy thought he had a massive head wound. She was more terrified when she learned what it was.

The Doctor's eyes shot open before Rory could even take his pulse, and he sat half up. Rory realized what was going to happen just before it did, and moved out of the way just in time. The Doctor's eyes rolled back, shoulders and arms spasmed once, twice, three times, and then he retched, choking for a second, before vomiting up a tide of blood. His throat convulsed and lips trembled. River jumped to his other side, helping hold his head up, pulling his arm around her shoulders to support him. So much blood, everywhere.

Amy wondered how he was still alive, where it could all be coming from- there was no way his thin body could hold so much blood.

"River," he gasped, voice hoarse and burned from bile and pain as his insides bled. He breathed heavily as the tide subsided. "River, get out, get them out-,"

"No. We aren't leaving you," River said firmly, but softly. "What can we do? Tell us, please, how do we help you?"

"TAR-," he broke off, coughing so hard his body shook. He held a fist in front of his mouth, and Amy saw blood fleck his pale knuckles. His coughs turned into gags, but he swallowed hard and fast, an awful wet, painful sound coming from his throat, as he forced the sickness back. When he regained control, he continued. "TARDIS, voice interface," he says loudly. A hologram of himself (minus the pale skin, red lips, sunken eyes, and rashes) shimmered into existence.

"Voice interface activated," holo-Doctor said.

"Access files- TL-S13 virus," the real Doctor instructed.

"Files accessed." The real Doctor's eyes wandered half shut.

"River… get the files… keep Jenny away, she could get it, just keep an eye on her gun," he mumbled.

"Of course, sweetie. How much time do we have?" River asked.

"Until… the spaceman comes… but no, lakes have fish. Ducks. Duck ponds- why aren't there any ducks? Pond…" his voice faded until his lips were moving, and he thought he was speaking, but no words came out. "… and those mountains, all crystal…"

"He's delirious," Rory said nervously. He touched the Doctor's forehead to check his temperature.

And crumpled to the ground. Amy screamed, and ran to him, but before she could do anything, River yanked his hand away from the Doctor's skin, pulling hard as if they had been glued together. Rory immediately gasped and rolled away from him.

"What was that?" he exclaimed, accepting Amy's help up. His hands were trembling.

"Defense mechanism. When something is draining his energy and life like this, relatively slowly compared to a bullet or something that would kill him in hours, rather than regenerate, he takes energy from whatever living thing he touches," River explained sadly, brushing his hair off his forehead affectionately.

"What about you, then?" Amy asked.

"It's a Time Lord thing. I'm technically a Time Lord, genetically speaking, so he won't take my energy. It was a safety thing, so Time Lord nurses could treat Time Lords without getting killed."

"So it… he… just stole my energy?" Rory gasped.

"You weren't in contact for him long enough to take much. But yes, he took some energy. You feel shaky and weak, yes?" He nodded. "That's because he took it from you. Stay in contact for too long, and you would die."

Rory looked thoughtful, but River wasn't paying attention anymore. "Voice interface- what is TL-S13?" she asked the holo-Doctor. Amy looked away. Looking at the holo-Doctor just made it painfully more obvious how ill the real Doctor was.

"TL-S13, or Time Lord- strain 13, is a virus that can only attack a being with a binary vascular system, or two hearts. Any more or less and the virus can't circulate as quickly and will be easily destroyed by the immune system. Early symptoms include sore throat, mild fever, headaches, fatigue, and mild nausea. Beings that reach the second stage without treatment have a 100% mortality rate. Second stage symptoms include rash patches and skin ulcers, high fever, seizures, trouble breathing, hematemesis, massive hemorrhaging, and nerve system failure. The final symptom, the nerve system failure, leads to paralysis in extremities. The paralysis spreads to the limbs, then the torso. Eventually, the involuntary muscles become paralyzed as well, and the victim dies. The incubation period is two hours. The period from onset of first symptoms to second stage is 36 hours. The period from second stage to death is 12 hours, though death can occur earlier from hyperpyrexia, blood loss, sepsis, extreme pleural effusion, and heart rupture. Because the disease so thoroughly destroys the body, the victim is usually incapable of regeneration," the holo-Doctor said tonelessly.

"I don't even know what half of that means," Amy whispered.

"Bad things. You don't want to know," Rory said. He was pacing, his hand on his forehead as he tried to think. "And there's no cure?"

"There is no cure," holo-Doctor stated.

"No treatment, either? Nothing to ease his pain, to postpone it, nothing?" Rory asked desperately. "What about-,"

"There is no treatment."

"Why not?" Amy asked, getting frustrated. River dabbed at the sweat on the Doctor's face solemnly, eyes downcast. "I thought the Time Lords were unbeatable! That they had no weaknesses, and they were genius, they could solve anything!"

"There is no cure or treatment. The Time Lords never cured it, so they quarantined it by exiling all who had TL-S13. The Time Lords cured all 2,539 diseases that could affect them, except the 13th virus, TL-S13."

"So they couldn't even alleviate the suffering. They just sent the sick ones away to die in agony, alone," Rory fumed.

"That is correct."

"You can't give us any help?" Amy shouted at the holo-Doctor.

"No."

"How far along is he?" River asked softly.

"He will die in 3 hours."

_**Hematemesis- vomiting blood**_

_**Hyperpyrexia- extremely high fever that can kill**_

_**Sepsis- whole body inflammation, including **_

_**Pleural effusion- excess fluid in the space around the lungs that limits breathing**_

_**Morbidity- how contagious it is; a high morbidity means more people will catch it, a low morbidity means less people will and it spreads less easily and rapidly**_

_**Mortality- how deadly it is; a high mortality means more people will die from it, a low morbidity means less people will die from it**_


	3. Immortal Aid

**Next chapter! A few quick things first, though:**

_**Sepsis- bacterial infection of the blood, where the blood cells are overwhelmed by bacteria. Causes a drop in blood pressure, delirium, fever, hyperventilation, rapid heart beat, shakes, and rashes.**_

**In the last chapter, I said something about inflammation. I have no idea where that came from. My apologies :/ I hope this doesn't reduce my ethos too much. Thanks to Shiny Ivyleaves for pointing that out.**

**Onward ho!**

_ "You can't give us any help?" Amy shouted at the holo-Doctor._

_ "No."_

_ "How far along is he?" River asked softly._

_ "He will die in 3 hours."_

"Did he know he had it?" Amy whispered, staring at the Doctor as he shivered, still mumbling incoherently.

"Yes." They were all surprised when the holo-Doctor answered.

"When did he know?" Amy asked quickly.

"Eleven hours ago, by his time stream. One year, five months, and nine days ago, by your time stream."

"So he knew," Rory mused. "He knew. He wasn't just leaving to save our lives. He was leaving to keep us from seeing this. He knew it couldn't be cured, and he knew how gruesome it would be. So he preferred to die alone than for us to have to see him suffer like this."

"River, what can we do?" Amy begged, kneeling beside her. Rory crouched beside her, so they circled around the dying man who had changed all their lives, put them in near death situations and always saved them.

"I don't know."

"But… what about that energy thing? If he was to get enough energy, could he heal?" Rory asked tentatively.

"Yes, but the energy has to come from a living creature. It can't come from any machine, else the Huon particles in the heart of the TARDIS would have more than enough energy for him. I can feel the TARDIS trying to funnel energy to him, but she can't- it's not living, breathing energy, so his body can't accept it," she said sadly. She let out a long, catching breath and looked up at the ceiling of the TARDIS, trying to hold back the tears. "There's nothing we can do."

"How much energy?"

"Too much. More than any living creature has. It would take limitless energy to save him."

"Alonso, he'll be great to you, and you'd better be good to him," the Doctor muttered, eyelids fluttering.

"We just have to sit here and watch him die?" Amy asked in a small voice, ignoring the feverish ramblings.

"There's nothing else we can do."

"Jack, you dog, behave, won't you… Jack Harkness, not even your real name," the Doctor continued, apparently talking to someone who wasn't there. He grew animated, moving his shoulders a bit as if trying to sit up. "Jack… Jack!" His eyes opened, and focused on River's face. "Jack Harkness. Find him," he rasped, grabbing the front of her blouse with sudden strength and pulling her face close to his. "Jack Harkness. You have to find him…" he trailed off, becoming more conscious, and his brow furrowed. "Wait… no. Just leave me-," he began coughing hard. "Please… nothing you can do," he whispered slipping into unconsciousness again.

"Jack Harkness?" Amy asked, confused. "Who is that?"

"Harkness… _Harkness_… where have I heard that before?" River said, trying hard to think.

"Interface?" Rory said.

"I am here," holo-Doctor replied.

"Who is Jack Harkness?"

"There is no Jack Harkness in my files," holo-Doctor replied smartly. Rory sighed, and looked at Amy.

"Worth a try-,"

"However, there is a _Captain_ Jack Harkness in my files," holo-Doctor added. The trio's faces lit up.

"Access Captain Jack Harkness information. Who is he?" River asked quickly.

"Captain Jack Harkness is a human man, who became immortal when the time vortex saved his life. Leader of Torchwood, Harkness cannot be killed. He does not regenerate like a Time Lord- merely heals. He-,"

"Immortal? As in, limitless energy?" Rory asked, catching on quickly.

"That is correct."

"If the Doctor was to touch him, and take his life energy, would it kill him? Jack, I mean?"

"Uncertain, but… given past evidence of Captain Jack Harkness's recovering abilities, the likelihood of it killing him is low."

"Could it cure the Doctor?" Amy asked. The holo-Doctor hesitated, reluctant to change its prognosis.

"Potentially. No precedent exists. Captain Jack Harkness is an anomaly- he is the only known being in existence with limitless energy."

"Where is this Jack Harkness?" Rory asked.

"Invalid question."

"What?" Rory wondered, stumped by the holo-Doctors abrupt inability to supply information.

"Jack Harkness. Captain Jack," River groaned, shaking her head. "He's a time traveler as well. He has… well, it's like a wristband, but it has the technology to move him through time. And he doesn't really follow the rules. Like his immortality," she said, frowning. "It's… unnatural. The Doctor told you about specific events that could never be changed or erased? He's one of those events. He can't be erased or changed, so he doesn't die or age. So he doesn't follow rules, and jumps through time like it's a game. You can go through your own time stream, overlap and such, but it's like… Jenga, that game where you stack a tower. It could collapse time and space easily. Except for him, he can do whatever he likes, it would seem."

"So… he's in different places at once?"

"Or he's not even in the same time as us. There could be a gap here where he hasn't been in this time, but from how much he travels, it's more likely that he's a few places at once. Interface," she said, turning to the holo-Doctor, "where and when is the closest Jack?" The holo-Doctor spat out a list of numbers and names that were meaningless to Rory and Amy, but River nodded and jumped to her feet after tenderly lowering the Doctor to the floor, even unwrapping her silk scarf and placing it under his head. Then she was moving quickly again, walking around the console, flipping levers and hitting buttons, each movement sharp and precise.

The customary whooshing sound followed, minus the shaking and violent tremors in the floor. "She's being gentle with him," she explained to Rory and Amy, 'she' being the TARDIS. "We've arrived, anyways." She stuck her hand in the Doctor's jacket and pulled out his sonic screwdriver and handed it to Amy.

"What's this for?"

"We're going to see Jack. You'll need something to defend yourself with. Rory, you'll take your sword." She picked the Doctor up carefully. The spitting image of a real-life _Pietà_.

"I can-," Rory started, stepping forward, but she smiled.

"I've got him. You can't touch him, and I'm strong, remember?" She nodded toward the door. "You'll have to get that for me, though." Rory hastened to open the door for her. She walked out with all the dignity and poise of a queen. Rory and Amy followed.

They had arrived in a very technical-looking room. Screens with control boards beneath them covered two whole walls, and two people manned each wall. A young woman with dark hair sat at one, and a middle-aged man sat at the other. Standing between the two of them, a hand on the back of each chair, was a young man in a large gray coat. All three of them were back-to. The man in the coat noticed them almost immediately, spinning around.

"What the- who the hell are you?" he asked, his jarring American accent catching Amy and Rory off guard. His eyes widened when he saw the Doctor lying unconscious in River's arms. "What the hell?"

"You might want to sit down, Jack Franklinson," River said formally. "You have a big decision to make, and less than three hours to make it."

**Doctor is not mine. Next chapter is not yours until 3 reviews are mine.**


	4. Identity Crisis

**Review questions:**

**-This isn't a crossover- it's just Jack jumping in a little. I don't watch Torchwood, don't know enough about it to do a full-scale crossover. I don't know a whole lot about Jack, either, so I hope this isn't out of character. Sorry to you Jack fans.**

**-There were some questions about 'Jack Franklinson'. Jack's father's name was Franklin. I'm not saying I know his real name, or this is it. It's just River showing off her smarts and trying to be intimidating by calling him Franklinson. Plus, she prides herself in being a skillful liar, in both lying and seeing through lies. She knows Jack's name isn't really Jack Harkness, and is calling out his lie. Showing off again. Oh, River.**

**-There might be a bit of innuendos here, if you squint. Because it's Jack. So watch out for those, don't be too offended.**

They were all seated around a small table. The woman had scurried off to get tea, noticing that there was private business to be done, and dragged the man off with her, who was all too happy to stay away from the diseased stranger in the curly-haired woman's arms. The Doctor was lying on a cot that the woman had found before departing, and River was seated closest to him, not wanting to stray more than four feet from his side.

"So what is this all about? Who are you all, and how did you get the Doctor's TARDIS?" Jack asked furiously. "And what's wrong with him?" he gestured toward the Doctor, who's eyes had closed completely and ceased muttering, a fact that worried Rory, which in turn worried River and Amy.

"He's the Doctor, obviously," River said curtly. Jack snorted.

"That skinny little kid? Yeah, right. The Doctor doesn't get sick, anyways," he dismissed.

"Apparently he does. You've met him, many times- you must not have met him in this regeneration cycle, then?"

"He swore his next body would be a ginger. That," he said, nodding toward the Doctor, "is not a ginger. Or a Time Lord."

"Yes, he is."

"No he's not, his hair is obviously brown-,"

"No, I mean _yes_, he is a Time Lord. _The_ Time Lord. The last survivor, unless you insist on arguing for three more hours."

"He is not! Why do you keep saying that? What do you want from me? It's not the Doctor. He can't get sick, he told me so himself- the Time Lords eradicated all diseases that could affect them."

"Not all of them. This one, TL-S13, is the only one left, and he'll be dead in seven hours, maybe less, unless you touch him."

"He's a very handsome gentleman, I'd love to touch him. I bet he's got great skin when he's not comatose and dying," he said, rolling his eyes. "Except I'd like to know why. Say he is the Doctor. Why do I need to touch him?"

"He's in emergency drain- his body is dying, but slowly enough that rather than regenerate, it's trying to take life energy from other things to survive. Regeneration is a traumatic process, a last-ditch effort. You have limitless energy. If you touch him, he can take that energy and heal himself with it."

"How do you know I have enough energy even for that? What if it takes all of my energy? I don't know if it's limitless. So far, it seems that way, but why push it?"

"I know the Doctor would never ask you to risk your life for him. He would never ask you to die for him. But I would," she replied, a steely look in her eyes.

"What is this TS-30 thing again?"

"TL-S13," Rory corrected.

"Right. And what does it do?"

"The first stage is much like common strep throat, with headaches, minor fever, sore throat, fatigue, a bit of an upset stomach. Second stage happens 36 hours later, and during the second stage, the victim develops spotty rashes, vomits blood, spikes a deadly fever, may have fluid leaking into the lungs, seizures, and internal bleeding. It finishes with nerve system failure. Paralysis moves from extremities inward, until it paralyzes the muscles that make your heart beat," he listed helpfully, still half in nurse mode. "It seems similar to hemorrhagic fever, with all the internal bleeding and sores, but the final stages being paralysis are different. There's no cure for hemorrhagic fever, though. And this is worse than that."

"Hemorrhagic fever?" Amy whispered to Rory.

"Your tissues and muscles and skin separate and you bleed from everywhere," he whispered back. Amy looked vaguely nauseous.

"And you're bringing _that_ here? And you want me to touch him?" Jack asked incredulously, sliding farther away from the Doctor. "That's disgusting. I don't want to get sick. If it was the Doctor, why wouldn't you just let him regenerate?"

"Because it wrecks his body too thoroughly. From the symptoms, I can guess the virology behind it- like Ebola and the other Filoviridae, it kind of… well… melts your insides. By the time it's through with him, he'll be a skin sack of body fluids. I doubt even a Time Lord can rebuild after that."

"Gross. Who are you all again? Oh, wait," he said, rolling his eyes. "You haven't told me who you even are yet."

"They are Rory and Amy Pond," River introduced. "And I'm River Song." That had an effect. Jack stood up suddenly, palms flat against the table, looming over them.

"River Song. Also known as Melody Pond, correct?" he asked quietly, voice dangerous.

"Correct." She drew herself upright proudly.

"Take your sick man out of here. I know about you, and I'm not falling for any of your shitty traps. The Melody Pond I know of would never help the Doctor. If anything, this is a scheme to kill him. Taking power- I bet you're stealing my energy, or technology, or going to hold me hostage to get the Doctor. I'm not playing your game. Get out, or I'll escort you all out. At gunpoint." Before the others could react, he produced a shiny, alien-looking gun from his pocket and had it pointed between River's eyes. Rory put his hand on the hilt of his sword, and Amy whipped out the Doctor's sonic.

"Ahh, see? You've got his sonic. He doesn't give that to anyone, at least not willingly. What've you done to him?"

"He's right there! That's him, how do you think we got here? The TARDIS, the Doctor himself taught me how to fly her. I would never, ever, ever do anything to hurt the Doctor," River snapped, ignoring the gun and standing to face Jack. At the mention of his name and his TARDIS, the Doctor moaned piteously. One of his legs jerked, and he rolled onto his side, spasms going through his limbs, a watery cough climbing out of his throat. Rory was at his side in a second, carefully looking at him but avoiding touching him. He held a hand over his face.

"He's getting worse. I don't know if he'll even survive the next two hours," Rory said worriedly. He bent down to look at his fingers. "Look. The nerve failure has already started. His fingernails are blue, and his temperature is well over 40o Celsius. I'd say almost 45o." He turned to Jack. "Look, you might not trust River, but you have to trust me. Look in my eyes, and tell me I'm lying when I say that this is the Doctor, and he'll die for sure if you don't help us," he demanded.

"Jack…" the Doctor mumbled. "No…"

Jack studied Rory's face. It seemed sincere enough, like he truly did believe what he said. But what if he had been tricked by Melody?

"You said this was a new regeneration of the Doctor. Why did he regenerate?" he asked suddenly, testing their story, trying to catch them unawares.

"Massive amount of radiation. A portal through time and space was created to bring Gallifrey back, and when it was shut down, the energy used to create it was vented in the form of radiation, which the Doctor took to save another man, Wilfred, and it killed him," River answered quickly. Jack nodded slowly- that made sense. He knew about the events that had happened, but not about the regeneration.

"You're Melody Pond. Why would you want to save him?" he asked.

"Because I love him," she said softly. Jack opened his mouth, but she cut him off. "I know, I was programmed by the Silence to kill him. But as I learned all about him, I began to love him too. I learned everything about him- all his strengths, weaknesses, his fears and hopes and what he loved and hated. When you know someone so well, and your destinies are so intertwined, it's hard to hate him. I never hated him- just knew I needed to kill him. I had a desire, a burning within me that I knew would only end when I killed him. When I was around him, all I knew was what could be used as a weapon, how he was giving me an opening, and the like. It was a game to me- like flirting. And then I did kill him," she said sadly.

"But he's here. Did he regenerate again?"

"No. I was conceived in the TARDIS, in a time vortex. That's how the Time Lords gained their abilities and their regeneration power, was prolonged exposure to the time vortex. I had that same power. I'm a Time Lord as well, I suppose. When I killed him, the desire to kill him was gone, obviously. I'd used it, and it had used me, and so I was released from my brainwashing. I used my regenerations, all of them, to bring him back."

"Bravo," Jack said, mildly impressed. They all jumped as the Doctor wailed suddenly, curling up into a ball, shaking uncontrollably.

"River-," Rory said anxiously.

"I know, I know," she said soothingly before turning back to Jack. "Do you know what happens when he dies? We all die. That is the Doctor. You have to save him. All you have to do is touch him, and the connection will be established. He'll tap into your energy, and be healed."

Jack walked slowly to the shaking man on the cot. He reached out, but hesitated, his hand a centimeter away from the Doctor's. Suddenly, the Doctor's eyes snapped open, and locked on Jack's face.

"Jack… no," he whispered in a voice wracked with pain. Their eyes met, and Jack knew it was the Doctor.

"Hang in there, old friend. You'll be okay," Jack said confidently, before grabbing the Doctor's hand. He collapsed, but their hands remained connected.

"Now what?" Amy asked fearfully. River sat down, staring at the two immortals, wondering if either (or both) would survive.

"We wait."

**Three is the magic number.**


	5. Let Go

**This isn't over- trust me. In Microsoft Word, the entire story is 38 pages long. We're on page 17. I didn't want to tell you- in books, it's easy to tell who's going to survive and what's going to happen judging by how many pages are left, a fact that irritates me. So I wanted to leave however much was left a mystery, but I don't want you to think this is over, or I'm moving into the epilogue. Far from it. Hold on, boys and girls- we're not even halfway through.**

**Three is a magic number because three reviews are required before you can has moar.**

**And I haven't said this in a while: Doctor Who isn't mine. All the potatoes in the world won't buy him, unfortunately. Curses.**

Jack's mind was filled with painful white light, and an unending, skull splitting shriek of rage rang in his ears. His body was on fire, he was a meteor, burning through the atmosphere, shrinking, disintegrating, he could never survive this-

_Jack. I told you no._

A voice suddenly echoed calmly in his ears, edged with a familiar icy rage. The pain receded- it was still there, but distant, less a fire and more a dull ache.

_Doctor?___he thought back.

_Yes, who else, you big dumb space man?_ Jack noticed affection behind the irritation. _I'm holding back the pain so you can stay coherent. And sane. Now, let go of me. I'm going to die regardless, and I'm not letting you go down with me_.

_We're in this together, right? So it's really you? I never thought Melody Pond would show up on my doorstep, asking me to save you,_ he replied. Speaking (if you could call it speaking) to the Doctor was helping block out the pain. It was still there, but he could manage it. He'd had worse, and had survived that.

_Yes, well, she's not exactly Melody anymore. She's River Song. At least, this version of her is._

_Do I sense… Oh, Doctor, you're in love with her!_ Jack teased.

_No! I mean, of course not. Don't be foolish. And you're changing the subject. You're going to die if you try to save me. This disease… TL-S13. It can't be cured. Can't even be slowed. I've seen it kill hundreds of my people. What you're doing is COMPLETELY breaking the rules._

_ And when have I ever-_

_ Yes yes, I know, you don't follow the rules. But you're wrong- there are some rules you follow. Like the fixed point in time rule. This isn't exactly a fixed point, but it's as serious. This could have serious repercussions- the disease could kill both of us, it could mutate, it could be absorbing this energy as well and could grow and become a sentient being, it could use this energy to do terrible things, it could possess me, or you, or both of us… you have to let go, Jack._

_ Letting go is giving up, _Jack snapped._ Neither of which I do._

_ Jack._ The Doctor's thoughts were soft and weary. _It's okay. I've lived a long and full life- too long for any creature. My number is up. I forgive you._

_ Doctor… no, I- I can't…_ But it was obvious that Jack was wavering. It had struck a chord- living for too long, finally welcoming death. Something similar in him understood it, and was slightly ashamed to know the Doctor could accept his fate so calmly while he, running from death all the time, living far too long for a human, stomping all over the rules of life, couldn't accept his death.

_Jack. Let go. It's-_

But at that moment, Jack's eyes opened. He blinked, looking around, confused, and sat up, still maintaining contact with the Doctor, just in case. River, Amy, and Rory stared at him with huge eyes. Together, they all turned to look at the Doctor, who was still.

And then he opened his eyes.

"You're alive!" Amy shouted happily, leaping forward to hug him, but River caught her shoulder and held her back.

"Just a second, Amy… Doctor?" she asked gently and slowly. "Are you alright?"

"I… think so. I seem to be." He put his hand to his chest, feeling his twin hearts beating steadily and strongly. He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth, wiping off a bit of blood off his lips. "It… worked?"

"Apparently," Jack said proudly. "No flu, ancient or otherwise, gonna get this guy down." He squeezed the Doctor's hand, then stood up, letting go of him to brush the dust off his pants.

The Doctor froze, staring at his hand for a moment, waiting for the disease to attack him again, waiting to feel his blood cells shattering in his veins, his skin blister and tear, the lining of his insides to start breaking down, to start vomiting blood and spike a high fever. But it didn't happen.

"I don't believe it… It really worked," he muttered. River let go of Amy, allowing her to hit the Doctor at full speed, knocking him back down in a joyful hug.

"I knew you'd make it," she murmured into his collar. He smiled, rubbing her back.

"That makes one of us. Whew, that was close," he breathed. He sat up, still hugging Amy, and River joined the hug. Rory hesitated.

"Get over here, you big silly. Being all 'too cool' for hugs," Amy called to Rory, her voice muffled. He smiled and joined the group hug. After a moment, they broke apart, grinning.

"So… it's gone? Will you get it again, or relapse?" Rory asked. The Doctor waved his sonic screwdriver over his hand, then stared at it for a moment.

"Nope. Readings say it's completely gone from my body. A little energy blast to boost my immune system, and no virus, deadly or not, is going to stay happy in me," he said cheerfully, patting Rory's cheek. "So! Where is my big blue box?" River gestured to the doorway, indicating that it was parked in the other room. He ran out of the room to it, and they could hear him, "You clever old girl! Finding River, helping them navigate here, saving me again… looks like you've done it again, you sexy thing!"

Amy rolled her eyes and turned to Jack. "So… thank you. A lot."

"No thanks needed. The Doctor's done a lot for me- I owe him for the rest of my life. This doesn't even come close to paying it off," he replied. "Sorry about not believing you. And you," he said, turning to River. "You'll have to understand that it's hard to believe that Melody Pond, famous Doctor-killer, is trying to save him."

"It's all forgiven. I get it more often than you'd believe, so I should be used to it."

The Doctor appeared in the doorway. "River, could I speak to you for a moment?"

"Ohhh," Amy teased, elbowing River. "Alone time. Good luck!" River smiled- a typical cocky, seductive, dangerous smile that seemed to be constantly on the edge of her lips, and followed the Doctor into the other room.

**Three reviews! Remember- this is a double-peaked story. We're only at the first climax. There's a LOT more to go. Guesses, anyone?**


	6. Oh, River

**I don't own the Doctor.**

The Doctor appeared in the doorway. "River, could I speak to you for a moment?"

"Ohhh," Amy teased, elbowing River. "Alone time. Good luck!" River smiled- a typical cocky, seductive, dangerous smile that seemed to be constantly on the edge of her lips, and followed the Doctor into the other room.

"It's out of character for you to do this, Doctor," she said saucily as she swaggered past him to stand against the front of the TARDIS, arms crossed and one eyebrow raised. The Doctor put his hand in front of his eyes, his thumb over one eyebrow, index finger over the other. Not the seductive, hot look River was looking for- it was more stressed and angry than anything else.

"What were you thinking, River?" he said in a low voice, thick with barely contained anger. She smiled winningly, going to him and putting a finger under his chin. To her surprise, he hit her hand away.

"Doct-,"

"Come on, River, use that big brain of yours! What were you thinking, endangering Jack like that? Let alone Amy and Rory- them seeing me like that, what do you think you put them through? Was it necessary to involve them?" he barked, eyes furious.

"I saved your life, like I always do. Nothing bad happened. Jack is fine, you're fine, Rory and Amy are better than they were because they're with you again," she snapped back.

"Yes, but _at what price?_" he growled.

"There doesn't always have to be a price! Look, you were dying twenty minutes ago. I cured a disease that not even the mighty Time Lords of Gallifrey could cure. And you're alive," she said proudly.

"You don't get it, do you!" he roared, suddenly mere inches away from her face. She flinched, not used to seeing him like this. "I'm going to die eventually- you can't keep bending the rules to save me. You're so proud- just because you've done a few things that people once considered nigh impossible, you think the universe should bow before you. You're pride is making you tamper with the way of things too much. You're playing with fire, River. And eventually, it's going to get out of control and the whole of existence will burn."

"I just saved your life. Nothing bad happened," she said defensively, but she looked away. It was obvious he'd hit her in a soft spot.

"Nothing bad happened? Jack just poured his energy into me. He doesn't know what he's done. That energy he has comes from somewhere. Jack is a locked part of time- that energy came from time itself. Congratulations, River, you just increased the entrophy of space. The universe is going to die faster now, because of you." She looked back at him, her eyes alarmed.

"I-,"

"_Also_," he interrupted, not finished, "you just channeled an immense amount of energy through me. And what was in me as well? A very, _very_ deadly disease that has never been seen by any species in current existence. A disease that killed thousands upon thousands of the most powerful race the universe has seen, that they couldn't cure, or even slow, or even lessen the suffering of those dying of it. I felt it in me, River. Sucking up some of that energy. Now whatever was in me is gone, but there might be a few particles of it left, and those few particles are charged with the energy that holds time and space together. You've given it another advantage, as if it needed any more. All because you can't just accept that I'm going to die eventually," he shouted, gesturing angrily. Her eyes flashed- he'd gone too far.

"It's not that I can't accept it, it's that you can't let it go," she snapped. "You want to die so bad. How selfish of you. Do you know what your death would do to everyone left? All of your companions, everyone you've ever met, which would be hundreds of thousands of good people across the stars, would be heartbroken. You would spread a plague of misery and sadness through the worlds. Not to mention how many times you've saved everyone. We depend on you, Doctor. You can't just give up- you have a duty. We didn't give it to you- it's your own fault. You committed to saving the universe almost 900 years ago, when you first locked the participants of the Time War away. It's too late to stop now."

"You think I _want_ to die?" he asked quietly, hands trembling with rage.

"Yes. I know you, Doctor. You've been taking bigger and bigger risks, and now you're practically suicidal. You came down with a deadly disease, and instead of fighting, like you should have, like you always used to, you locked yourself away. I understand that you're tired, and you've seen too many deaths, and whatever other excuses you have running around in your clever little head. But you aren't going anywhere." The Doctor suddenly realized her eyes were shiny with a sudden rush of retained moisture. Tears? Was she crying?

"River…" he murmured, trying to think of the words he needed, to soothe her, to smooth things over, to make the saline overflow in her eyes go away. She blinked quickly and walked away, to the TARDIS. She opened the door (it always opened for her, locked or not- the TARDIS, being so intimately connected to the Doctor, shared his love for the fierce woman) and stood in the doorway, still back to.

"I'll be in here when you're ready to bring everyone home," she said quietly, turning just enough to drop the words over her shoulder, but not enough for him to see her face, obscured as it was by those rogue curls. And then she was gone. He stared at the blue door that concealed his love. Then he ran his hands over his face once, trying to compose himself, and went back into the other room.

It was obvious at once that they'd heard the argument. Of course they had- shouting like howler monkeys, like a common old married couple. The Doctor's emotions were all over the place. He was embarrassed they'd heard. He was furious with River. He was grateful for River. He was furious at himself. He was worried about what repercussions they'd face. A big whirlwind of feelings inside him, barely contained by his thin frame. The connection between he and River ran deep, and as such, he was deeply disturbed.

Amy, Rory, and Jack were sitting around a table, chatting, but the air was tense, as if they'd heard the argument, heard the silence, realized the Doctor was coming, and started talking quickly in a poor attempt to pretend that they hadn't heard the argument at all.

"Well! Looks like things are settled here… Jack," the Doctor said, saluting jovially, following the false cheerfulness that sat in the air like a fetid odor. Jack smiled and saluted back.

"If you ever want to talk, or have some tea, or want _anything _else," Jack said suggestively, winking, "feel free to stop in. By the way- I don't think I had a chance to compliment your new regeneration. Lucky dog, get a fresh, new, exciting face every hundred years or so… Though I feel like I didn't get enough time with the last one. That was my favorite- but this is good too. Young, and far more expressive than the 10th," he mused. Amy laughed at his deviousness.

"Are we heading back, Doctor?" she asked. He heard the second question in her voice, asking if back would mean back to she and Rory's room in the TARDIS, or back to her house.

"Yes. Back," he said distractedly, not sure of the answer. Rory stood up, and Amy jumped up out of her seat, dashed forward to give the Doctor a hug, but appeared to stumble over one of the chairs and crashed to the ground. She sprawled comically in front of the Doctor's shoes.

"You shouldn't jump around like that after such a traumatic afternoon," he told her, looking perplexedly down at her, and then offered her a hand up. She scowled and ignored it, getting up on her own.

"Right. Yeah," she said, shaking her head, recovering slowly. Jack noticed the Doctor looking at her intently, brows slightly furrowed. Then the Doctor saw him looking, and smiled reassuringly, holding out a hand.

"Until next time?" Jack said, shaking his hand.

"Probably sooner than later, Captain," the Doctor smiled back. He followed Amy and Rory out the door. Jack heard them talking happily and casually, and then the creak of the blue door opening, then closing- their voices were gone- and the whooshing sound of the TARDIS leaving. He sat down chewing on his thumbnail thoughtfully, worry plain on his face.

It wasn't over- he'd seen it in the Doctor's eyes, that he, too, knew that this thing wasn't put down yet.

**Taa-da! Conflict! I'm trying to set multiple things in motion at once, adding extra problems other than just the main plot, something I don't often attempt, so bear with me, and help me out in any way you can- point out things you like or don't like, any mistakes I've made, anything that could use correcting or touching up.**

**Three reviews!**


	7. Wiring To Do

**Q and A!**

**Q: **_**Is Jack not immortal anymore?**_** A: Yes, he's still immortal. The energy is still going through him. They didn't take the energy from Jack, they took it from time itself, using Jack's connection with that time energy as a channel of sorts. River had no idea what she was doing- she just knew Jack had lots of energy, but not where it came from. Jack is fine. Time is weaker, though. Jack uses the energy of time, so when he dies or gets hurt and gets back up again, healed, it does increase the entrophy of the universe, but not by much. The way River used it was very destructive and uncontrolled, a way it isn't meant to be used, so it shortened the length of the universe's life by a few hundred years. Foolish, Song.**

**Q: **_**How does this affect the thing in Series 3 with Utopia and the Master?**_** A: Um…. Uh…. I guess it doesn't? I'm gonna go with 'paradox' for this answer. It's already happened, so it was already taken into effect- like in 'Let's Kill Hitler', when they try to avoid Melody killing the Doctor, but inevitably cause it, and they try to kill Hitler, but accidentally save him, and cause the future they were trying to avoid. Get it? It's not a very good description… but I hope you can understand anyways. They use paradoxes a lot in the 11****th**** Doctor's reign- with the Pandorica, with Lake Silencio, with 'Let's Kill Hitler', and many others. Clever continuity, though, Shiny Ivyleaves!**

**Onward!**

"Well, Doctor, where to?" River asked sweetly, all traces of their earlier argument gone from her face and voice. It made the Doctor nervous- he wasn't sure if she was still upset and was just pretending not to be, or if she was genuinely over it. This body and personality, this 11th regeneration, was unused to commitment and the complexity of romance. Actually, few of his regenerations had actually gotten married (if he and River ever did get married, though she hinted at it enough that even a romantic dunderhead like himself knew something would happen). He didn't know where he and River stood, after their first argument.

"Hmm. Well, these two…" he trailed off, looking thoughtfully at Amy and Rory. Amy's face fell. Rory stepped forward and put a hand on the Doctor's shoulder.

"Can we talk for a moment?" Rory asked quietly, to everyone's surprise. The Doctor and Rory didn't dislike each other, but it was clear that Rory didn't like Amy's devotion to the Time Lord, or his encouragement of her devotion, however unintentional it was.

He and Rory went downstairs and stood among the wires. "Yes?" the Doctor asked, curious.

"Well… I don't want you to put Amy and I back at our house. I want for us to stay with you again," he said quickly.

"_What_?" the Doctor asked, incredulous.

"I know, I know. I like you, Doctor, really. Sometimes I might seem sort of… well…"

"Envious? Resentful? Angry?" the Doctor filled in for him. Rory grimaced.

"Well… yeah. But I really do like you. But most of all, I love Amy. The past year and a half… she hasn't been herself. She spends a lot of time staring out the window. She jumps at anything that sounds even remotely like the TARDIS- our microwave broke and she went nuts at the noise it made-,"

"The TARDIS does not sound like a broken microwave," the Doctor said, affronted. He petted a glass pipe beside him. "There, there, girl. He didn't mean it."

"And it's like she's only half there, and the other half is waiting again. Don't think she'll get over you, just go on and live a normal life- she's been through too much to do that. _We've_ been through too much. She's already waited for you for 14 years. That wasn't enough to deter her, and now she's grown up, and more patient, sort of, and she isn't going to stop waiting. She isn't going to give up and just accept that you're gone." He ran a hand over his face, troubled. "You said you wanted to save us… but it's too late for that. You're just going to have to take us back, because it's either a life with you, maybe a short life, but a life nonetheless- or an existence back in Leadworth, that isn't a life at all."

The Doctor was silent for a moment as he pondered this. It was true- he'd been too late, too late to save them. When he had left, he thought he was doing what was best for them. Wrong.

"Okay."

"Okay?" Rory repeated, surprised. "Really?"

"Yes, of course! Traveling alone would be dull, anyways. I talk too much- I'd give myself a headache. Better to talk to you two!" _Not to mention that I want to keep an eye on everyone who was around me,_ he thought, but didn't say. He clapped an arm over Rory's shoulders, and they walked back up the stairs. Amy took in their companionable closeness and squealed.

"Yay! Oh, thank you, Doctor, thank you!" She hugged him, and then kissed Rory full on the lips, laughing.

"And I suppose you're still against bunk beds?" the Doctor asked. Amy rolled her eyes and ruffled his hair.

"Correct! I-," she broke off when the Doctor grabbed her hand from the top of her head and pressed it against his cheek, eyes narrowed with concentration. "What are you doing?" she giggled. He ignored her, first sniffing her hand, then licking one of her knuckles. "Hey, what's the big deal?" she said, snatching her hand away and wiping in on her skirt. "Gallifreyan drool, ew."

"Nothing. I just… like your… perfume," he said awkwardly. It was silent for a moment as everyone stared at him. He looked back at them, trying to look innocent.

"Um... okay. Thanks," Amy said slowly, looking at him as if he had two heads. "Well then…"

"Right!" He clapped his hands, spun around once, and attacked the buttons and levers of the center console. River walked curiously behind him.

"Where are we? We're nowhere," she said, confused.

"No, we're floating in empty space just inside the Tylon galaxy. One of the most lifeless places in the universe- one of the very few galaxies with only living planets, and they're both on the opposite end of the galaxy," he corrected. River rolled her eyes.

"And… why?"

"Because we're not doing any more adventures for the day. I have some wiring to do. You three are exhausted- don't argue," he said when River and Amy both opened their mouths to do just that. "You don't need to see anyone or anything else today. You're tired."

"And you aren't?" River asked. He laughed.

"No. I've just had a massive transfusion of raw energy. I don't need to rest," he scoffed, already rummaging through the pockets of his tweed jackets for his goggles. He piled what he found on the console- a long scarf, a red rubber ball, a yo-yo, a stethoscope, a deck of cards, a long paperclip chain, a perfect white lily, and finally a pair of welding goggles that he pulled on.

"You've been sick- lost at least a liter and a half of blood, three times what a donor can safely give-," Rory started.

"Wiring to do," the Doctor cut in. Rory continued.

"- and I can't imagine the repairs your system is going through- your brain was almost literally melting, with the fever you spiked, and your-,"

"Still wiring to do."

"- nerve endings were half dead, not to mention the fluid that was filling your lungs- not just fluid, actually, that was your blood, you aren't going to replace it without eating and sleeping-,"

"Oh, hush," the Doctor scowled, pausing his descent down the stairs and pulling his goggles up to glare at him properly. "Doesn't change the fact that there's wiring to do. Just because I got a little fever and a few boo-boos-,"

"Hyperpyrexia, internal and external lesions, loss of clotting factor, and hematemesis is hardly a fever and boo-boos," Rory muttered grouchily.

"Well, I have things to do. Busy man. A little flu won't slow me down. I thought you wanted adventures! If you want adventures, then this old girl wants a tune-up first." And with that, he was gone below, pulling his goggles down onto his eyes and settling into his work sling-hammock.

"Wiring is _that_ important?" Rory asked River.

"No, not at all. But thinking alone is."

MNMNMNNMNMNMNMNMNMNMNMNMNMNMN

"She'll be fine. It's nothing. Probably just stress- or the weather, or normal life," the Doctor muttered to himself, busily stripping a loop of wire.

"But I felt it- the virus in me, it was speeding up, not dying, changing. I heard it's thoughts- even those little pesky viruses have some level of cognition. It was happy," he argued. The wire was stripped- he carefully cut it neatly in the center.

"Maybe it was old and ready to die."

"But that's not even an argument- viruses don't get depressed and want to die." He was silent for a moment. "River, River, River. Always know how to get right to the heart of the matter. Know me so terribly well." He shook his head.

"No, no, not now. More important things. So- Jack channels energy into me, and I get better. The disease isn't in me. But it's not dead. So where did it jump? Jack was closest to me, but it already showed that the tide of energy was-," he stopped, and snapped his fingers, letting go of a wire for a second. Sparks shot, and he jumped, throwing his arms over his face, and tugged another wire. The spray of sparks stopped, and he returned to poking around in the tangled mess above his head.

"Right. Tide of energy- it didn't kill the virus. That's why the virus was happy. If viruses can be happy. Not even a medulla oblongata, let alone an amygdala. But it was pleased. It's gone, but not because it was burned out. It was washed away by a flood of energy. So where did it go?" He said, talking quickly, his mouth barely able to keep up with his thoughts. twisted a handful of wires together, and began unscrewing a large brass bolt from some kind of lever contraption.

"Not Jack. Energy flood there. Not River- she's been vaccinated. So Amy or Rory? Rory had the most contact with me, playing nurse. Loyal, caring, fool, didn't know there wasn't anything his doctoring skills could do, nothing any technology or skill could ever do. But he isn't the one with the slight fever of 37.2o Celsius, and a slight metallic scent to her skin, as if the blood is thinning, not producing the correct amount of clotting factors, and the taste of almonds on her, like she's sweating out some sort of semi-alive particles that can't survive outside of warmth and body fluids…" he trailed off, removing the unscrewed bolt and setting his hands in his lap, staring sightlessly at the brass bolt in his palms.

"It can't be happening so fast, though… can it? But… If it's mutated to affect a different species, it won't have optimum virulence, and since Time Lords are so much stronger, it will be used to a stronger host that takes much more to wear down… the morbidity won't be high, but the mortality-,"

"Doctor!" Rory's voice echoed through the TARDIS, ringing with fear and worry. The brass bolt sat in the sling, the whole thing moving slightly from the speed at which the Doctor had vacated.

**It's longer than I'd wanted, but this was the best place to stop. I'd already planned a stop here, so it was either put a long chapter, or an average one plus a very short, unsatisfying one. And the average one would be actionless and not exciting. I can't do that :P**

**3 reviews!**


	8. The Bloody Truth

**I apologize for my trashy spelling and grammar last chapter- that was a rush point, where I was just trying to segway to the next major bump in the plot. This is part of that too, so I hope it isn't bad. I proofread it… actually, I was forced to proofread it when I left my laptop unattended for TWO MINUTES and one of my friends added random crude remarks scattered throughout the entire text. Which means I had to rifle through almost 40 pages of text, looking for what he'd done.**

**Enough of my whining. Chapter 8!**

"Doctor!" Rory's voice echoed through the TARDIS, ringing with fear and worry. The brass bolt sat in the sling, the whole thing moving slightly from the speed at which the Doctor had vacated.

The Doctor rushed into pool room (which he had finally gotten out of the library, after Amy and Rory had held enough splash wars to thoroughly soak a large part of his collection of books) to find Rory and Amy standing side by side, both of them soaked and in swimsuits, and Amy angry.

"That was unnecessary, you stupid face, I'm fine," she scowled, pushing away his hands as he put his hand to her forehead and tried to take her pulse.

"You're not- Doctor!" Rory exclaimed, seeing him rush in. "Amy just had a weird turn, I think she might be getting a bug-,"

"I'm fine," Amy huffed, crossing her arms. "I just got a little dizzy for a second."

The Doctor ignored her and put his hand against her forehead. She felt normal, but that could be from the cool pool water cooling her down. She was slightly flushed- but again, that could be from the pool. It was impossible to tell.

"Dry off, and get some clothes on. Don't shower, just get dry and dressed. Rory, get her to the med bay as soon as she's dry. I'll meet you there," he instructed, already turning to leave.

"I'm not-," Amy tried again.

"Med bay, ten minutes!" the Doctor called over his shoulder. He quickly made his way to the library, the TARDIS helpfully rearranging her halls to let him get there faster. Unfortunately, she also rearranged so River arrived at the library the same time he did.

"What's going on?" she asked, aware of him like nobody else ever could be, sensing his emotions and worry.

"Amy isn't feeling well." River paled, and was silent. The Doctor didn't say any more, letting it sink in. They both knew whose fault it was.

"You were right," River whispered, horror in her eyes at what she'd done.

"Maybe this will make you a little less rash," the Doctor said icily, a slight edge of anger and pain to his voice. "Killing your mother will certainly be a lesson you won't soon forget." He began scanning the shelves, looking for the book he needed. River saw it before he did, and retrieved it from a bottom shelf. A large, gray, dust tome. She handed it to him, but when he tried to take it, she kept her grip on it, and leaned close to his face.

"I was wrong. I'm sorry. But please… save her," she breathed. The Doctor could see the fear and sincerity deep within the wells of her eyes. He said nothing, just stared back silently. Then he pulled the book toward himself, and her still holding it, came toward him. He let go of the book and put his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. She tucked her face into his collarbone, and he gazed blankly over her shoulder, petting her hair.

"I'm going to be honest- I'm not sure I can. But you know, I will _try_. I will try so hard," he whispered, squeezing her tightly.

"I don't care how many rules you have to break. If you can't break them, then tell me what to do," River said fiercely, muffled in his shoulder. He gave her one last tight squeeze, then released her, stepping back and putting a finger under her chin, tilting her head up.

"Hey. Don't look so beat. We've beaten the impossible before," he said gently, smiling a little. She smiled back, and passed him the book.

Rory walked close beside Amy as they went to the med bay. She gave him a mistrusting look.

"You're doing it again," she accused.

"Doing what?" he moaned, wondering what he was doing wrong this time.

"Worrying."

"I always worry."

"Worrying about me. Being sick," she expanded. "Which I'm not," she quickly amended.

"Right. It's just a coincidence that we were with the sick Doctor and then suddenly you aren't feeling well," Rory said sarcastically, huffing. "Look. There's no harm in just making sure you're healthy, is there?"

"Well… no. But no shots, no probes, no surgeries-,"

"It's just a checkup!" Rory said, exasperated.

"-no panicking, no invasive tests… and no blood tests," she decided, ignoring his protest.

"Right. Okay, sure," he agreed as they turned a corner and walked into the med bay. The Doctor was pacing, waiting for them, and when they walked in, he rushed over.

"First things first. Temperature, pulse, throat check, and blood test," he said, rubbing his hands together. Amy turned to Rory angrily.

"She- uh, doesn't want any… you know. Blood tests," Rory stammered, bending under her glare.

"Well, she's going to get one. Just a finger stick, that's all we need," the Doctor said, rolling his eyes. Amy groaned.

"This is ridiculous!"

"What's ridiculous is your childish behavior. Sheesh, it's just a checkup, not surgery," the Doctor retorted briskly, leading them over to a classic bed you would find in a doctor's office, complete with crackly paper and a roll of stickers for children. "Sit."

He rummaged through the cabinets, and found a thermometer. "Open." She opened her mouth grumpily, and he put the thermometer under her tongue. "Close." She closed her mouth, glaring up at him as he shined a light in each eyes and peered in her ears. He flicked her elbow.

"Ow," she mumbled around the thermometer.

"Liar. There aren't any nerves on that part of your elbow," he accused laughingly, pulling the thermometer out of her mouth and inspecting it. A frown touched the edges of his mouth.

"What does it say?" Rory asked, trying to look over the Doctor's shoulders. He put it in a container of antiseptic wash before he could read it. "Hey," Rory protested.

"Finger stick time!" the Doctor said brightly, pulling the tiny tool. "Finger." Amy held out her hand and looked away as the Doctor delicately took her hand and folded all her fingers down except her ring finger. He swiped the pad four times with an antiseptic swab, then swiftly depressed the button on the lancet. Amy flinched slightly at the pain, but it was only for a second.

"After all we've done, I didn't realize you were so squeamish around blood," the Doctor said, squeezing her finger to make a drop surface, wiping it away, and squeezing it again for a second drop.

"I'm not. Well, not really. Just needles bother me. Only a little. And the fuss your making is irking," she added saucily, pouting at him. He laughed warmly, smiling a little, eyes still focused on her finger. He touched the capillary tube to the drop, sucking up a bit, and then set it aside and began unwrapping a green band-aid with little pink hearts on it.

"It's all for the greater good." The band-aid in place, he released her hand, and she hugged it to her.

"It's still bleeding," she complained, inspecting it. "I can feel it." Rory and the Doctor exchanged a meaningful glance, and she noticed. "What? What was that about?"

"Nothing," the Doctor said. He glanced at her elbow- a small blue and black bruise had already started for form. Frowning, he turned away to analyze the blood. He produced a monocle from his pocket and began studying the blood.

"It wasn't nothing," she argued. The Doctor fell silent, absorbed in his work and his thoughts.

"Playing Doctor, Doctor?" River walked in, smiling at her Time Lord. She went over and peered over his shoulder. In typical River fashion, her smile didn't waver at what she saw. "What's that?" she pointed at something on the little screen he was looking at.

Suddenly the Doctor tore his monocle from his eye and chucked it across the counter, then leaned on it, elbows on the surface, face in his hands.

"_That_ is TL-S13."

**Don't fall off the cliff! One last thing… I might be spacing the chapters out a little more. Meaning maybe a chapter every two days, instead of every day. I'm not very pleased with how the big main plot is solved- it seems to anticlimactic, too unexciting and easy and boring. While I was searching for my friend's little additions, I realized what a better ending would be. I don't know how I didn't see it in the first place- it was very obvious. Anyways. Not giving away the end. I'm deleting the last six pages and redoing it. It'll probably be more than 6 pages now, but it's going to take me some time. Please bear with me. Thanks!**


	9. No Choice

**I was confident I could do the new ending in a few days. I WAS, until I realized this is midterm week. Hoo boy. Things are rough- this morning, my body totally shut down, slept a few hours over my alarm, through classes. I am tired. You don't want my excuses, though- here's the chapter!**

"Playing Doctor, Doctor?" River walked in, smiling at her Time Lord. She went over and peered over his shoulder. In typical River fashion, her smile didn't waver at what she saw. "What's that?" she pointed at something on the little screen he was looking at.

Suddenly the Doctor tore his monocle from his eye and chucked it across the counter, then leaned on it, elbows on the surface, face in his hands.

"_That_ is TL-S13." Amy's eyes grew huge, and Rory hugged her tightly.

"But what's that extra end- there, that one. That extra branch on the dorsal end? It wasn't on TL-S13," River observed, calm and collected.

"That's the necessary adaptation that allows it to stay alive without two hearts pumping it around," he said quietly. "I was right- it mutated. It used the energy to accelerate its evolution, and of course, it would evolve to effect humans, because the energy had bits of human DNA mingled in it from Jack. In one move, it gained the ability to move to a different species, and discovered that new species."

"So-,"

"Right. Not TL-S13. Now H-S1. Human virus, strain one." River sat down heavily on one of the beds, staring sightlessly at the floor, all traces of her trademark Cheshire grin gone. The Doctor left the room in long, quick strides, Amy and Rory rushing to catch up to him. They arrived at the control room faster than possible- the TARDIS was adjusting her halls again to help.

"What are we doing now?" Amy asked. "It might not even be deadly. If it's new, it'll be, you know, weak and stuff. Right?"

"No, it'll be strong. Very strong and quick-acting. You've already got a fever, and your blood isn't clotting as well as it should. It hasn't even been four hours since you were exposed to the new virus. It's far above optimum virulence, hasn't settled in to humans yet."

"Optimum viru-what?" Amy asked, baffled, as the Doctor began working on the console, levers and buttons shifting beneath his quick, slightly trembling hands.

"Optimum virulence. It's… well, virulence is the degree of strength the virus has- like how fast it kills. High virulence is a quick, unavoidable death. So optimum virulence is sort of the perfect speed for a virus to kill a host- long enough for it to reproduce a lot, and for it to be passed on to a lot of others, which become more hosts, but short enough that it stays strong and competitive with other viruses, as well as not getting wiped out by the immune system," Rory explained.

"Right. Optimum virulence for a Time Lord is much higher than that of a human, because our immune systems are much stronger," the Doctor said.

"So… then it has a high viru-thingie… and Rory, you said a high one means it kills fast," she said, paling. "How long do I have?" Nobody answered. "Doctor, tell me. _How long do I have_?"

"A day. Maybe less," he whispered, coming over to cup her face tenderly. "Amelia Pond, I am so, so, _so_ sorry."

"There must be something- something we can do?" Rory demanded, standing up. "We can go anywhere and anywhen in the universe. Somewhere, there must be a cure." The Doctor watched him sadly.

"Back in the reign of Gallifrey, Rassilon's granddaughter caught TL-S13. He sent out a whole brigade of TARDIS's to search every corner of the universe for a cure, or treatment, or anything. Working in organized groups, they methodically searched every time and place for such a cure. They returned, having aged thousands of years each, with nothing. The girl died, and not even the Lord President of the Time Lords could do anything to stop it," he explained in a soft voice.

"But this is different, isn't it? I mean, it's in humans now. It's a whole new thing," Rory exclaimed.

"We're going to consult the Ood," the Doctor declared, hitting a last switch. The floor heaved beneath them, the familiar whooshing sound echoing in the air, and then it was over. The Doctor threw the doors open and stepped out onto the cold, snowy planet. The wind made Amy pull her jacket tighter around herself. About a hundred meters away stood a creature that made Rory step protectively in front of Amy. Both of them thought of Nephew, and his attacks.

"It's alright," the Doctor reassured them quietly. Louder, he called, "I've come to meet with Ood-Sigma and the Ood-council." The creature- an Ood, apparently- nodded and turned away and began walking. The Doctor followed him, and after a slight hesitation, Rory and Amy ran after him. They arrived at the mouth of a cave, alight with candles and fire. Another Ood approached them.

"Doctor. It's a pleasure to meet this regeneration. But I'm afraid we have no help for you. You know that TL-S13 can't be cured," the Ood 'said', though Amy and Rory didn't see his mouth move.

"This isn't TL-S13. It's a whole new animal. Please, at least look, and help if you can," the Doctor explained. "This is my fault- I can't allow her to die," he said, looking away, unable to meet Ood-Sigma's eyes. Ood-Sigma tilted his head to the side slightly.

"Not your fault. Doctor Song's," he said by way of comfort. "Of course we will do what we can. But I warn you that there may be nothing that can be done."

MNMNMNMNM

Amy sat uncomfortably in the chair, back in the TARDIS's sick bay. It wasn't that the chair itself was uncomfortable- far from it, the thing was a plush recliner. No, it was the electrodes stuck to her face and neck, and the IV in her elbow. She closed her eyes for a second longer than a standard blink. _How did I end up here?_ she wondered. It seemed like only a few minutes ago that she was sitting at her house, mourning the lack of adventure. _Karma, this is. Wanting something exciting… Exciting enough for you?_ she silently scorned herself.

"Are you comfortable?" Rory asked. She rolled her eyes.

"Yep. Nothing like some suction cups and needles to make a girl relax," she replied sarcastically. The Doctor and Ood-Sigma were checking machines and readouts and such. She rolled her head around, stretching her neck. Over the past hour, she had begun to feel sore everywhere, like a flu. When she complained to the Doctor, he grew more worried, if possible. Her stomach was beginning to turn as well, adding to her discomfort. There was nothing she hated more than the feeling of throwing up. It wasn't that bad, though- yet. She tried not to think about earlier, when she'd seen the Doctor seizing and vomiting blood, delirious and dying. But she knew- if they didn't do something, that would be her in a few hours. The fact that she hadn't cried a single tear or mentioned her suddenly looming death showed the immense strength of her character.

"That would be a no, then. But we can't take this off- the Doctor and Ood-Sigma are doing all they can, and without this, they can't do much," Rory said, trying to comfort her. "Want me to get you anything? Thirsty, hungry, cold?"

"No. No food, please. Ugh," she moaned, wrinkling her nose.

"You feel sick?" She nodded slightly, feeling miserable. "Doctor-," Rory said urgently.

"I know, I know," he replied, voice tight with concern. "Hang in there, Amy." Ood-Sigma gestured to one of the screens, and the Doctor went over to see what he was looking at.

"This structure- excluding this part, and that flagellum- is a lot like the poliovirus," Ood-Sigma pointed out. "If we could design an enzyme to break down that and the flagellum, it wouldn't be H-S1 anymore, it would just be poliovirus."

"Yes, but look at how many they are, and the concentrations in her body," the Doctor said, pointing to the schematics on the screen beside. "It would almost certainly evolve into epilepsy."

"Do you see another solution?" The Doctor stared hard at the diagrams, and ran a hand through his hair, mouth slightly open as he thought.

"So we save her from one disease by infecting her with polio, hoping she recovers from that, and also giving her chronic epilepsy," the Doctor despaired.

**Don't look for an update for the next few days. I'm very sorry… Nothing can be done, though. Unless you want the icky first ending. Bleh! NO way. Thank you all for your patience- love you guys!**


	10. Stage 3

**I've got the new ending almost finished! :D I've had a very productive weekend- got lots of projects done, climbed a mountain, saw my family… busy! :P But anywho. Here's what's next.**

"So we save her from one disease by infecting her with polio, hoping she recovers from that, and also giving her chronic epilepsy," the Doctor despaired. He went over to Amy.

"What is it?" she asked, taking in his grim face. She had started to shiver, and the band-aid on her finger had been replaced by gauze and tape- it had continued bleeding, getting worse as her blood lost its ability to clot. Her eyes were slightly bloodshot, and her lips and cheeks were bright red in contrast to the rest of her pale face. Beads of sweat had formed on her hairline, and strands of damp hair stuck to her face. He stared at her for a moment, memorizing her face so he could show the memory of it to River later, showing her what she'd done.

"We've found something. But… it's not much better. All we've got, though."

"Tell me," she demanded.

"Well… Ood-Sigma noticed that, aside from a few extra carbon chains, this new mutated virus is identical to polio. He's currently starting to design an enzyme to break down the extra parts and convert it to polio. Picture a big, messy hedge. That's the virus. And he's making a gardener to shape it into something else. Still a hedge. But less ugly." He paused, reflecting on his last statement. "Actually, that doesn't really work. It's nothing like that. Not a hedge."

"I'm going to be cured, then?" Amy asked, shock and excitement beginning to appear on her face.

"Of H-S1," the Doctor said, grimacing. "But you're going to get polio. And when you recover from that, you'll likely have chronic epilepsy."

"Oh." She was quiet. "Polio… say again what that's like?"

"Minor polio, this one will be. It'll be like… a stomach flu, I guess. Sore throat, headache, nausea, vomiting, fever, stomach pains. The headache, though- that's a bit of meningitis. Which is where the epilepsy will come from." She gave him a blank stare.

"Meningitis is swelling of the brain and spine tissues," Rory explained, understanding what the Doctor meant immediately. "He knows where the swelling will be most severe, and it will permenately damage a part of your brain. Not bad, though. Your personality and smartness and IQ and everything will be the same. The part of the brain that's damaged, though, will cause seizures. Spontaneous, usually, but a visual overload, like a very fast slideshow or strobe lights, can induce the seizures. They won't be painful- you won't remember them. It'll be like passing out- one minute you'll be doing something, next you'll be waking up on the floor."

"Brain damage," she echoed. "Sounds… unpleasant. There's no other options?" she asked the Doctor. Her gentle, resigned, sad voice about broke his hearts.

"We don't have time. We're lucky to have stumbled upon this. Plus we still have to make the enzyme- that'll take about an hour to synthesize, and a half an hour to make enough for a full dose. Even that is pushing it." He produced a tissue from his pocket and passed it to her. She took it- her nose had started to bleed slowly. She dabbed at it, then looked in horror at the crimson stain on the tissue.

"Please hurry," Rory begged. The Doctor nodded, and went quickly over to Ood-Sigma, helping. Rory started to peel the electrodes off her, and carefully removed the IV.

"I thought those had to stay on," Amy said questioningly. "Not complaining though." She flexed her arm experimentally, relishing the relief of not having a needle in her elbow anymore. Rory grabbed some more gauze and tape from the table to wrap her bleeding elbow with.

"They've got what they need. Isolated the virus, and are making an enzyme. They don't need any more readings from you," he explained. "Plus… if things start getting, well… worse, it would be bad if you were tangled in electrodes and had a needle in your arm. You could hurt yourself." Amy looked away as he finished bandaging her elbow.

"An hour and a half. I can do that."

An hour later, she began vomiting blood.

"Oh, God," she gasped between retching. "Rory-," she started, but was violently sick again. Rory had reclined the chair until it was practically a bed, and had rolled her onto her side, placing a bucket beside her head, and held her hair back with one hand, patting her face with a damp, cool cloth with the other.

"It's okay, it's okay. I'm here," he repeated, trying to comfort her and feeling helpless. The Doctor and Ood-Sigma worked feverishly.

"Rory- I'm scared," she panted as he wiped drops of blood off her face. "Don't- don't leave me."

"I won't leave you, Amelia Pond, I'll never leave you," he reassured her.

"Crack… won't take you away again, and when I forgot you… God, Rory, I'm so sorry. I can't believe… forgot you…." Her voice faded until he couldn't decipher what she was saying.

"It's okay, you couldn't help it," he said.

"… jealous idiot. It's never been him, always been you," she muttered.

"Doctor, she's delirious," Rory said, panic in his voice. He walked quickly over to his side and looked at the screens, trying to decipher what was going on.

"Almost done," he said tensely, typing in a last string of numbers. Ood-Sigma poured a clear, glittery fluid in the top of what Rory had thought was a microscope (apparently not) and the Doctor hit a blue button on the side. Black, viscous liquid bubbled out of the bottom of the machine and into a flask, sounding oddly similar to a coffee pot. As soon as it finished, the Doctor snatched the flask and they spun around.

Amy was gone.

"But how… she was delirious. She was… dying," Rory stammered, in shock. "I lost her," he whispered, eyes huge.

"No, no, NO, you didn't! She… couldn't have gone far," the Doctor babbled. He spun around, but she wasn't in the room.

"It would appear as though Amy has made an unexpected recovery," Ood-Sigma said.

"No, no, Amy didn't recover. She's getting worse. No, she's gone through the primary and secondary phases of H-S1," the Doctor said slowly, setting the flask down and rubbing his brow, trying to relieve the stress.

"Is there a tertiary phase?" Rory asked, confused. "The voice interface said it ended in the secondary phase. There's nothing else."

"But obviously, there is. We're dealing with a whole new virus. It really did absorb that… I was right," he groaned, running his hand through his hair.

"What were you right about, Doctor?" Ood-Sigma asked.

"The virus. When it was in me, and Jack's energy rushed through me… I could sense it. Telepathically. Which shouldn't be possible, unless it became sentient. The energy from time itself, compacted into tiny virus particles, it used it and evolved. Tertiary phase- complete takeover."

**I don't own the Doctor, and I don't add new chapters without 3 reviews.**


	11. Bluff

"What were you right about, Doctor?" Ood-Sigma asked.

"The virus. When it was in me, and Jack's energy rushed through me… I could sense it. Telepathically. Which shouldn't be possible, unless it became sentient. The energy from time itself, compacted into tiny virus particles, it used it and evolved. Tertiary phase- complete takeover."

"As in… possessed?" Rory summed up incredulously.

"No. Well…. Yes. I suppose that's the simplest way to explain it."

"Is she still dying?" Ood-Sigma questioned.

"I don't know. I really don't, this is as new to me as it is to you. I've never seen it before either," he exclaimed, frustrated. "All we can do now is try to find her."

"Right. My wife is possessed by a mutated plague, running about a time machine that's infinitely big, and may or may not be still dying." A determined look came across his face. Rory the Roman, resurfacing.

MNMNMNMNMNM

River paced in the library. She hadn't gone into the sick bay with the others. Her excuse was that she wouldn't be much use, and the fact that she'd caused it and everyone knew would only cause tension and distraction when they needed to focus on Amy. Her real reason was her fear of making things worse.

She knew she was a psychopath. Accepted it. Welcomed it, embraced it, even. She'd always seen herself as a meteor, a streak of fire across the sky, crashing and destroying her target, and then fading down underground until she took form as another meteor and struck again. What she couldn't stomach was that she caused earthquakes, resounding shakes that affected things around her target, aftershocks and other damage. Precision, brightness, destructive- that was okay. Wide ranged, uncontrolled, affecting everything- that was not.

The Silence had created her to be a specific, precise, pointed tool. Like a scalpel. But the Doctor had pointed out that she had been acting more like a sledgehammer, doing the job, but shaking other things up, creating a ripple of chaos. It was an ugly picture. She abhorred ugliness. Somewhere, somehow, she'd lost her glittery knife-point sharpness, and had morphed into a big rusty hammer. So she couldn't carefully cut out the disease from her mother- she could only beat at it and hope she didn't hurt everything around it too badly.

On the other wing of the library, faint footsteps were heard. River didn't recognize them to be the Doctor's- she knew him intimately, down to the slapping sound his big, clumsy, fast feet made. It wasn't an Ood- their steps were patterned, measured, purposeful. These were careful, balletic, unpredictable. River tensed, and drew her gun. She tiptoed to the edge of the bookshelf, making to peer around it-

When the entire stack shifted, moving in front of her. She recoiled, backpedaling quickly. Around her, she heard the entire library reorganizing itself. What the hell was going on? Only the Doctor, who's very DNA was inside the mind of his TARDIS, could do such changes.

"Doctor?" she called. No reply. Maybe it was Ood-Sigma- their minds were very open, and could control (or be controlled) things mentally with ease. She opened her mouth to call out again, but her hunter's instinct told her to be silent. Something wasn't right.

She clutched her gun, hesitating, trying to think of her next move. Restless eyes scanned the stacks around her, looking for a plan. The library was huge- wandering around, looking for whoever else was in here with her was a foolish idea. At least… on ground level, where she could be attacked at any moment, it was foolish. She quickly moved toward the shelves in front of her, but before she could reach it and scale it, the room shifted again.

The shelves moved out from in front of her, parting like fish, until she stood at the end of a sort of corridor, walled in by the shelves. Fifty meters away, boxed in with her, was a familiar fire-haired woman.

"Amy? You've recovered?" River asked. But she knew, deep down, that something else had gone wrong. Something was terribly awry with her mother.

"Amy?" the red-head's voice repeated slowly, as if in a dream. "Is that the classification you've given this organism?"

River's gun came up. "You aren't Amy. Who are you?"

"We have been classified as TL-S13. Or, we once were classified TL-S13. Now, though, we believe our classification has become H-S1." As Amy's mouth spoke, her face barely changed, lips barely moved. Her voice had no fluctuation in emotion or loudness, was completely monotone save for an odd buzzing underlying the voice, like in heavily audiotuned singer's voices.

"Leave Amy. Now. Or I'll shoot," River said menacingly, staring down the barrel of her gun.

"We believe this is what's called a 'bluff'. This body that contains us is the shape of your creator. You will not destroy it. It should also be noted that ending the life of this body will not end us- we are many, and microscopic. The death of this body will not bring the death of us. We will merely move to the next host."

River's face was grim. She adjusted her grip on her gun, then adjusted it again. They faced off, mother and daughter, creator and created. Amy stood with her feet together, back ramrod straight, face emotionless and smooth. River stood with her feet apart, one slightly in front of the other, both arms fully extended, and her gun in her hands, pointed at Amy, and the thing she'd made inside her. She licked her lips, rearranging her hands on the gun again. H-S1 began to walk toward her with long, fast strides, crossing the space in an instant. River didn't move- couldn't move.

The thing inside Amy made her hand go up, grab the barrel of the gun, and pull it to her forehead. River's eyes grew wide- Amy's face didn't change.

"This gun has much force. When you pull the trigger, the speed and resulting explosion the bullet causes going through the skull will create a cloud of blood. We believe it's called the 'red mist'. And millions of us will be in the red mist, and we will spread, fill the air of this place, invading every living creature inside this place. And your mother will be dead," H-S1 said robotically, the underlying buzz grating on River's ears.

Her hands trembled.


	12. Planning

The thing inside Amy made her hand go up, grab the barrel of the gun, and pull it to her forehead. River's eyes grew wide- Amy's face didn't change.

"This gun has much force. When you pull the trigger, the speed and resulting explosion the bullet causes going through the skull will create a cloud of blood. We believe it's called the 'red mist'. And millions of us will be in the red mist, and we will spread, fill the air of this place, invading every living creature inside this place. And your mother will be dead," H-S1 said robotically, the underlying buzz grating on River's ears.

Her hands trembled.

MNMNMNMNMN

The Doctor produced three clip-on-ear walkie talkies from his pocket. "Borrowed from Torchwood." (Hundreds of years and thousands of light-years away, Jack discovered the missing mics and swore.) "Work very long distance- keep the radio on at all times so we can stay in contact. Ood-Sigma… you can clip yours to your, erm, face tentacles," he said quickly. Rory took his and hesitated.

"You're talking as if we're in danger, not Amy." The Doctor didn't reply, and Rory let out a weak laugh. "I mean, she's sick. What could she do to us?"

"I don't know, Rory. Honestly, I don't. I just want to be prepared for anything." He clipped on his mic. "I'll ask the TARDIS to rearrange a bit so we can find her quickly, and to lock the doors to any dangerous rooms, but there's no guarantee she'll listen. She's still a bit in shock from TL-S13, and cleaning up the blood in the control room." Rory noticed he avoided saying that it was his blood. "She's all befuddled. I've locked the console controls to everyone but me, so Amy can't mess with anything, but I'm not sure she's up to anything else, poor old girl."

"You think Amy will try to fly the TARDIS?" Ood-Sigma questioned.

"It's not Amy. It's H-S1," Rory corrected angrily.

"Apologies," Ood-Sigma bowed, while the Doctor rubbed his forehead.

"I don't know, I don't know! I'm just… preparing for anything. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best. We don't know what this thing wants. That's what we need to find out first- maybe we can get it to leave Amy. We don't even know if it has any malignant intent. It's mutated, and new to being cognitive, and I'm sure it's confused. Point is- we've got to find her. Rory, take that way, stay out of any dark corridors. Ood-Sigma, follow Rory until you meet a fork- one take one way, one take the other. I'll head this way. Coms open at all time. Be careful." He nodded to both of them, and they parted.

MNMNMNMN

"Why?" River asked, her voice cracking. The gun was still pressed against her mother's forehead, pointed at the parasite-virus she'd created.

"We don't understand. Clarify your question," it said.

"Why did you find me? I can't do anything you can't. The only way I could help you would be to fly the TARDIS, but obviously you can already handle that," River whispered. "So why me?"

The thing smiled with Amy's mouth. It wasn't actually even a smile- just pulling the face muscles so her mouth curved into a concave-up line. The rest of her face didn't change- just a smile on her lips.

"Tell. Me." River's eyes narrowed.

"The phrase that applies here is 'playing it by ear,' we think. You created us. We're sure you have other ways to help us, other than the cognition, full-body possession, and hosts you've given us already. Also, we are following a rule of human life that we believe is called 'rubbing it in,' something akin to rubbing dirt in a wound, except the metaphorical dirt being words or meaning, and the wound being only a mental or emotional wound."

As Amy's mouth spoke, River's shoulders sagged, more and more with every word. Her eyes dimmed, and gun lowered, until she was staring at the floor, gun hanging uselessly from numb fingers. A deep, shuddering breath rattled her shoulders.

The virus put its lips beside the defeated River's ear. "Take us to the control room."

MNMNMN

The Doctor dashed down a hall, knocking open every door he came across, peering inside for half a second, then continuing his mad rush.

"C'mon, think think think," he muttered, throwing yet another door open, glancing at the aquarium inside, and bouncing across the hall to open another one. "Where would it go? A newly created virus, cognitive… but how cognitive? Does it have wants and dreams and aspirations? Or does it just understand what's vital to it? What do possessing parasite-viruses want?"

He rushed around a corner, sliding slightly on the smooth floor, checking more rooms. "It's a virus in a time-space travelling machine. Does Amy have any influence over it? Did it push her out of the way, or did it engulf her? If Amy was still in there… the virus would've infected Rory, not taken off. So it's thinking like a virus, not like an Amy-virus hybrid. Right."

"Doctor, we can hear you," Rory's irritated, slightly out of breath voice said in the Doctor's ear.

"Yes, yes, mouth thinking, shush," the Doctor exclaimed as if it was obvious. "So… what does a virus want?"

"Hosts. Bodies to infect, and lots of them," Rory replied.

"I wasn't asking you! Just thinking! So, what does a virus want? Oh! It would want… hosts. Lots of hosts, bodies to infect," the Doctor realized, hitting himself in the forehead.

"Rory just said that very thing," Ood-Sigma pointed out.

"Shush, you. So it wants lots of bodies. It wants… Earth. They always want Earth," he grumbled, slamming a door extra hard. "Earth… so it tries to get to Earth. But it doesn't know the TARDIS, does it?"

"There were trace strands of your DNA in the nucleus of the H-S1 virus we observed, and you said a single cell of a Time Lord-," Ood-Sigma said.

"Oh, right! So it does know the TARDIS! Actually," he interrupted, then stopped, freezing. His face paled. "It has my DNA. Inside it. Part of me… Rory! Ood-Sigma! Head for the control room, now! The virus, it has a link into the TARDIS, as strong as mine, maybe stronger. There are millions of the virus inside Amy, with hundreds of strands of my DNA. It could move corridors, rearrange rooms, do whatever… It will think it can fly, but I locked it out, so it'll head for the control room." He turned around and began sprinting down a side corridor, tweed jacket flapping behind him.


	13. Hypocrite

**I know, I know… "Where were you?" "Why didn't you post?" "Why did you leave?"**

**Well. There are many good reasons for it. Like doing volunteer work in Antarctica to help save an endangered species. And contracting demon pox. And having my laptop confiscated by FBI. Unfortunately, (or, rather, fortunately for me,) none of these are the actual reasons.**

**Honestly? There was no real good reason for my absence. Just writer's block, I guess. I go through my hobbies in hops and leaps, spending all my time on it for a few months, then not looking at it for another month.**

**Here's what I need to say: I'm very sorry. Please forgive me! I'm going to post tomorrow as well, if I can. It'll probably be late at night, like now. Bear with me?**

**I do not own Doctor Who or any related material. That's BBC's cake. Not mine.**

His face paled. "It has my DNA. Inside it. Part of me… Rory! Ood-Sigma! Head for the control room, now! The virus, it has a link into the TARDIS, as strong as mine, maybe stronger. There are millions of the virus inside Amy, with hundreds of strands of my DNA. It could move corridors, rearrange rooms, do whatever… It will think it can fly, but I locked it out, so it'll head for the control room." He turned around and began sprinting down a side corridor, tweed jacket flapping behind him.

MNMNMN

"So what now?" River asked the virus with Amy's face.

"You can fly it. We can fly it as well, but you have more experience, and from the memories held in this body's mind, we know that this machine, this… TARDIS, is volatile and obeys you best."

"Where do you want to go?" River asked grimly, walking toward the controls.

"Earth, obviously. We are virus- we want host bodies," the virus replied, a touch of happiness in its voice for the first time.

River turned, sitting on the edge of the console, and smiled. "Can't do that. Sorry."

"Why not?" the virus snapped.

"I might not be able to kill you, but I can keep from killing a few billion humans. Are you crazy? I'm not taking you there," she said cheerfully. In an instant, the virus-Amy was an inch away from River, nose to nose.

"Yes. You will." River whistled.

"Nice trick, that. How did you move that fast?" she asked coyly.

"We have total control over this body, more than the previous occupant had. We can use 100% of the muscles and speed, rather than the pithy 10% that most humans use," it said arrogantly. "You will bring us to Earth. Now." But River was shaking her head.

"I won't. Can't, actually. My clever Doctor- he locked the controls. The only person who can fly her now is right over there," she said, nodding over the virus's shoulder. The virus whirled around, and River grinned. "Hello, sweetie."

"River," the Doctor acknowledged, entering with Rory and Ood-Sigma behind him. "What are you doing with it?"

"It jumped me in library- it can control the TARDIS better than even you. Rearranged the bookshelves, the whole library spun around me like a merry-go-round. Never seen anything like it," River said with admiration. "Then it demanded I come here with it, because it thought I could fly it."

"I-," the Doctor started.

"Locked the controls, I know. Nice work, darling," she winked.

"But that doesn't make sense… why did you bring River here? You can fly it yourself, you know that," the Doctor mused, walking toward Amy and the virus. It smiled, pulling up its lips with that eerie half-smile that didn't touch the rest of her face.

"Of course we know that, Doctor," it said.

Faster than any of them could react, almost too fast to see, it drew River's gun from her thigh holster and buried the tip in the mess of golden curls beside her, pressing the barrel against the side of River's head. Amy's face contorted slightly, a steely, determined look sharpening her features.

Rory let out an involuntary cry, and even Ood-Sigma flinched. The Doctor put his hands up slowly.

"It's alright," he said soothingly, speaking in a gentle, slow voice. "Just tell me what you want."

"We want Earth."

Rory made to move forward, but Ood-Sigma's eyes flashed red, and he stepped forward to intercept the angry, protective Roman father. His arms were surprisingly strong beneath his suit, wrapping around Rory's elbows and restraining him quickly.

"You forget. The Ood are highly susceptible to mind control. They have strong psychic powers, sure, but only on the offensive. Defensively… they're weak. We control him. It only took a few of us to slip between the dendrites and axons in his brain for us to take him. As much as you brag about being clever, Doctor, that wasn't very smart," the virus said condescendingly.

"What do you want?" he growled, face stony with anger.

"We want Earth. We want you to take us there, or first we'll kill your wife-,"

"We aren't married," the Doctor mumbled.

"-Then we'll kill your companion. And slowly, that time, so we'll be sure you'll take us," the virus said. The Doctor looked at River, who, in typical River fashion, smiled winningly.

"It's okay, sweetie. My life, compared to all the life on Earth? It's a no-brainer. The gun is set to high power- it'll be over in a second and I won't feel a thing. I'm sure you'll see me again, a younger me," River said gently.

"River," the Doctor whispered raggedly.

"Before I go- I just need to say, I lo-,"

"No, don't!" the Doctor interrupted, putting his hands over his ears. Everyone blinked in surprise.

"Doctor-," River began, but he cut her off again.

"River, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I said what I did to you, I'm such a bloody hypocrite. I told you not to put my life before others, but here I am- putting your life before the entire planet Earth." He raised his hands in surrender. "I'll do it. I'll take you to Earth, just don't hurt River, and leave Amy. Alive," he asserted.

The virus smiled, raising one eyebrow. "Obviously you'll do it. One thing we have gleaned from this host's mind- the power of love. It's a deal. While we've been in her, we've had complete control of all her internal chemicals. A dead host is no use to us- we set the repair proteins into overdrive. Her body is in perfect condition. Though-," it frowned, "the stomach is having a bit of an… ache. The repair proteins took a lot of energy- this body needs refueling. When I evacuate, she will be hungry."

"Thanks for the heads up. May I?" the Doctor asked, gesturing to the controls. The virus wrapped an arm around River's neck, holding her in a headlock with the gun still pressed against her head, and moved back to give the Doctor space. He hit a lever-

"Doctor. Don't," River gasped, realizing that he wasn't playing games, or setting up a plan. He was actually going to do it. "You were right, I should never put one life above anyone else's-,"

"Right. Doing that is bad. But I'm going to be bad for a moment. See, look how you've rubbed off on me," he prattled, ignoring her alarmed tone.

"But-,"

"River, _stop_. I'm saving you. You can be gracious, or you can be angry. You'll get over both eventually, so it doesn't make much difference to me, except maybe a few bruises." He stopped what he was doing and looked her right in the eyes. "I love you."

"I- I- I… I love you too," she mumbled, eyes moist, unable to look away. He stared at her for another second, then hit one last switch. The TARDIS rumbled to life noisily, perhaps a bit louder than usual in protest to what the Doctor was doing. Then it stopped- they'd landed. The virus's face blanked, and it stared at the floor for a second, before looking up at the bowtied Time Lord and smiling.


	14. For Amy

**As promised, here's the second update! I'm impressed- despite my disappearance, I got the three reviews rather quickly. Thanks for keeping up hope, and for the forgiveness! You guys are great- now here ya go.**

He stopped what he was doing and looked her right in the eyes. "I love you."

"I- I- I… I love you too," she mumbled, eyes moist, unable to look away. He stared at her for another second, then hit one last switch. The TARDIS rumbled to life noisily, perhaps a bit louder than usual in protest to what the Doctor was doing. Then it stopped- they'd landed. The virus's face blanked, and it stared at the floor for a second, before looking up at the bowtied Time Lord and smiling.

"Perfect. Year 2008, planet Earth, London. No tricks… we're surprised at you, Doctor," it said. It released River and pushed her toward the Doctor, who caught her. She kept the gun aimed at River. "We'll go now. We will leave this body, and you can pick it up in exactly one month at this same location. And no tricks- there are a million of us in this body, all of us aiming this gun. We won't miss."

"Wait! What… what happens if you get eradicated before you spread? What if this takeover isn't successful? What will happen to Amy?" Rory asked. The virus turned slowly to stare at him, keeping the gun aimed at River.

"Then this body- Amy, you call her- will die." It hesitated, looking thoughtful. "You seem well versed in pathology."

"I'm a nurse. You should know that," Rory replied. "Or… you don't have access to Amy's memories?"

"No, we do not have access to Amy's memories. A few of them, yes, and some things we gleaned from Captain Jack Harkness and from the Doctor. But not much."

"You don't know how to survive that Earth out there. You'll give yourself away too quick, and be destroyed, and I'm not letting you kill Amy!" Rory shouted, renewing his struggling against Ood-Sigma.

A crafty smile touched its lips for a moment. "Then tutor us. How do we take Earth, in your professional opinion?" the virus asked in a low purr.

"Rory. Too much," the Doctor said sharply.

"And giving it a ride to Earth isn't too much?" Rory said, exasperated. "I'll tutor it. I'm going to lose my whole species, so I'll be damned if, given the opportunity to save my wife, I'd pass it up. You saved your woman. Don't tell me not to save mine."

"Yes, Doctor. Let him save Amy," the virus said sweetly, doing a shockingly accurate pout. For a moment it looked exactly like Amy, normal and healthy and in control. And pouting.

"We don't even know if Amy is still in there," River pointed out.

"She is. We can feel her- she's sort of boxed in a corner. We can sense her emotions seeping out, but she can't do anything."

"It could be lying. It already lied once," River suggested.

"But it's not," Rory said.

"No, I don't think it is," the Doctor mused quietly. River glanced at him in confusion, then blinked, expression turning to realization.

"Oh. Oh! Ask it, then," she said. The Doctor turned to the virus and walked right up to it, almost nose-to-nose. The virus stared back challengingly as the Doctor looked it up and down.

"You can fly this yourself. You've already displayed incredible control over the TARDIS, so flying her would be easy. So. Why did you wait for me to get here?" he said, saying question slowly.

"Do you think we would risk ourselves? This is an incredibly complex machine-life-form," it said, the last three words so quickly that it was practically one word. "Furthermore, we suspected more trickery from you. We don't want to do anything you can predict."

"Oh, sure, that might be part of the reason," the Doctor said, spinning around and swaggering around the console, delighting in his discovery. "But the main reason is that you aren't just a virus. You're Amy, as well. Angry, Scottish, stubborn ginger-girl inside your head. Or, rather, you're inside her head. She isn't going down silently. So bits of her are clinging in there, some of the more powerful Amy bits. Like her pride and viciousness. Which means you- or her, I suppose- didn't wait for me because you were worried. You wanted to make _me_ deliver you earth, make me submit before your will. That's Amy. She wants to win, and she wants to _completely _win, grind her enemies into the dust. Brilliant, she is."

"It doesn't matter. We will still have earth. The fact that traces of this body's previous occupant still reside does not change that," it said, a bit of pomp in its voice.

"No… No, I suppose it doesn't," he whispered, shoulders slumping.

"We still win. Now- Rory Williams. Come, sit by our side. River Song, sit on our other side so we can keep you hostage properly. Ood-Sigma, keep an eye on the Doctor," it said, sitting on the steps that led into the labyrinth halls of the TARDIS. The two sat gingerly beside it, as if it was a bomb about to explode. It smiled at Rory, unnerving him. "Begin."

"Right. Um… so, um, you'll have to… start in the countryside. Where the hospitals- do you know what those are?" he asked.

"They are centers of healing, where wounds are repaired, bacteria is destroyed, and my kind is vaccinated against. We know facts of Amelia's mind, just not her memories," it said dryly. "Continue."

"Yeah, so the countryside is a good place to start because there are fewer hospitals and the doctors aren't as experienced, usually. The afflicted- your victim- will be brought to the hospital when his body starts to mess up and symptoms appear. You'd have to be very careful at this point, and find the right new victims carefully. Some doctors will be extremely cautious, and will protect themselves against you. You have to look for the sloppy ones-,"

"Like Sloppy Joe." Both the virus and Rory stared at each other for a moment. "Sloppy Joe? The doctor you complained about, Dr. Joseph, who never wore masks and was always rubbing his eyes, and you said he was going to catch something terrible and start an epidemic."

"Yes… like Sloppy Joe. How did you know that?"

"We don't have her memories- yet. They're slowly revealing themselves to us. Not quickly enough for us to safely venture out to earth, if the trend continues. But they are returning. Keep going."

"Okay, so select a sloppy one, and from there, you can infect the medical centers. This is extremely vital- you'll have to control them like you're controlling Amy now, keep them from freaking out and developing a vaccine or cure. Also, you can pretend to be a vaccine, and spread yourselves even better. People trust doctors- if you, as a doctor, stick a needle in them and insert fluid they don't understand, they won't question you. By the way… how do you spread?"

"Not through the air, unless we are born aloft with a cough or a sneeze, in mucous. There is a human disease named _streptococcal pharyngitis_ that spreads much the same way. You might commonly know it as strep throat. We spread more easily than a sexually transmitted disease, but not as easily as the common cold. Your idea almost guarantees a successful infection, spreading through a needle. Thank you, Rory."

"You're, uh, welcome."

"You are being more helpful than necessary. We are curious. We would like to ask you a personal question," it said unexpectedly. Rory nodded uncertainly.

If he thought that was unexpected, what came next rattled his brain.

"Are you attracted to us?"

"… what?"

**This is where it gets a bit strange. I've rewritten this part about ten times. Oh well- if all goes well, ('well' defined as 'getting three reviews') then another chapter will be up tomorrow night. I've got it mostly finished- just the very end of the closing scene to finish.**


	15. Crisis

**Slightly shorter than I'd like, but I made the last two a little longer than I'd intended and need to keep with where I built the stopping points/cliffhangers in. Sorry… but it's pretty action-packed! We're drawing close to the end, probably two or three chapters left. The next one will probably be the climax, then the conclusion. Stick around!**

"You are being more helpful than necessary. We are curious. We would like to ask you a personal question," it said unexpectedly. Rory nodded uncertainly.

If he thought that was unexpected, what came next rattled his brain.

"Are you attracted to us?"

"… what?"

"Your hearing isn't malfunctioning, and we spoke at an appropriately loud- oh, you're using the expression to show disbelief. Your shock has been noted. Now please answer the question."

He stared at River for a moment, his look saying, _what the hell is going on here?_ She blinked- no, she winked, so quickly he almost missed it. Taking that as encouragement to be honest, he drew a deep breath.

"Well… yes, you're kind of in my wife's body, and I find her very attractive, so… I suppose right now, yeah, I am a bit attracted to you."

"Is it merely the body we wear that appeals to you?"

"I… I…" he looked at River, but she stared back, her expression revealing nothing, and then at the Doctor, whose face was equally impassive. He cleared his throat. "Well… you using 'we' instead of 'me' or 'I' is a bit disconcerting, but… ehm… I guess your medical knowledge is pretty, uh, appealing. Why are you asking?"

The virus lifted its chin haughtily. "If we are to fit in on earth then we must be likeable and appealing. Enough to cover up for errors in behavior that we might make."

"You're lying," the Doctor said softly.

"How so, Doctor?" the virus challenged, putting it's hand on it's hip in a very Amy-like pose.

"You said Amy is inside there. You also said that you understand the power of love. Those combined things- Amy's influence, and knowledge of love- have changed you. Even in the very beginning, you knew she was in there, and you ran from us because you knew that you needed to fight for her. You could've just held me at scalpel-point or something, but _you didn't_." He hit a lever on the TARDIS. The creaky whooshing sound begun, and the floor heaved beneath them. The virus wrapped its arm around River's throat again and held the gun up.

"Doctor! Bring us back, or we swear, we'll shoot her!" the virus shrieked.

"Amy, we know you're in there, fight! Strong, brave, fairytale Amelia Pond, get back here!" the Doctor shouted, holding onto the console. The floor stabilized as they stopped travelling. The virus flipped it's head to the side, getting the hair off it's face, and glared at the Doctor. In the sudden silence, the click of the hammer pulling back seemed to echo.

"Bring us back."

"Amy, come back," he retorted.

"Doctor, please, just-," Rory started.

"Shut up, stupid-face!" she pointed the gun at the floor and fired. Only River's Time Lady reflexes allowed her to move her foot out of the way in time.

"Stop, please!" Rory cried.

"Don't do it, Doctor!" River shouted. Everyone began shouting at once.

"Bring us back! Now, or-,"

"Amy, come out, please!"

"Just do what she says-,"

"Mad Amy Pond-,"

"You can't, Doctor, stop, just let it-,"

"_Bring me back!_"

The silence was deafening. A look of horror came across virus-Amy's face.

"Amy?" Rory said softly, eyes wide. Virus-Amy began to tremble, and River slid out from her grasp, gasping as the pressure on her windpipe vanished. The Doctor ran to her side and caught her before she could stumble.

"Rory? I- we… bring us back… I'm…" she stuttered uncertainly, eyes unfocused. She brought her hands to her head. The side of the gun touched her hair, and her face cleared.

Replaced by a cold expression.

"We will not lose." The virus turned its arm, pressed the barrel to its temple. "We will win, or everyone will lose."

"Amy, god, please don't," Rory gasped, reaching out to her. Virus-Amy flinched, and Rory froze.

"We will kill the host and blow ourselves into the air and infect you all. All I- no, we want is earth. We give you the chance to save yourselves. Bring us to earth, and we won't infect you," the virus snapped.

**I don't own the Doctor. Three please? Thanks!**


	16. Absolution

**There's one chapter left after this. I hope you approve… It's been a great journey, guys, and I appreciate all the reviews and support you've given me, through long absences and sabotage and improper grammar. Thank you all!**

"We will not lose." The virus turned its arm, pressed the barrel to its temple. "We will win, or everyone will lose."

"Amy, god, please don't," Rory gasped, reaching out to her. Virus-Amy flinched, and Rory froze.

"We will kill the host and blow ourselves into the air and infect you all. All I- no, we want is earth. We give you the chance to save yourselves. Bring us to earth, and we won't infect you," the virus snapped.

"It's lying," River declared. "If you're wired into the brain enough to play puppeteer, then the death of the brain will rebound and shock you, killing you too," she told it.

"You will lose too," the virus said, not bothering to deny its death. "You care about this being. We will take her down with us."

"I'll take you to a different planet, one that isn't earth," the Doctor suggested.

"No. I want earth. Humans, _these_ humans. I- We want earth." Its eyes burned.

"Why earth?" Rory asked, desperation in his voice. "Why does it have to be earth?"

The virus was silent, so the Doctor spoke up again. "Why don't you tell us, H-S1? Tell us why you want earth, and nowhere else."

"Plentiful hosts, and we are designed to infect humans-,"

"The real reason. Tell us the real reason," the Doctor said coldly. The virus said nothing, though its hand began to tremble, making the gun barrel quiver. "You won't tell us? Fine, then I'll tell. You've had a taste of humans, but specifically, you've had a taste of Amy's personality. All you've known is snow and ice, facts and detail. But emotions, they're like fire, nothing a virus has ever touched before." The Doctor looked at Rory, while still talking to the virus, eyes wide as he tried to convey what he couldn't say. "You don't want earth- you want the humans and that burning emotion. I don't blame you. What creature wouldn't want such vivid emotion, joy and power and the head rush of it all. What you want-,"

"Is to be loved," River finished. The virus squeezed its eyes shut. When it opened them again, Rory was inches away.

"It's okay," he whispered, then pressed his lips to virus-Amy's.

Around Amy, the air seemed to ripple, like a heat wave. It spread to envelop Rory, but neither husband nor wife noticed. Amy lowered the gun and dropped it on the floor, lifting her hands to wrap her arms around Rory's neck instead. The heat wave vanished, and the two pulled away with a gasp.

"Rory?" Amy's voice was small.

"Amy? Are you here now- I mean, really here?"

"Yes. It's… gone," she mumbled, pressing her palm to her forehead her legs wobbled, and Rory reached out just in time to catch her before she fell. He swept her into his arms, and she blinked sleepily.

"Thanks," she whispered. _Not just for catching me. For everything._ She curled up against his chest and closed her eyes.

"Doctor… Doctor, what's happening?" Rory said, carefully lowering Amy to the floor and kneeling beside her. Her breathing was slow and relaxed, her pulse steady.

"It's okay, she's just a little weak. H-S1 was wreaking havoc with her metabolism, using any energy it could find, so she's physically exhausted. As well as mentally- she was fighting it that whole time, I expect," he reassured Rory. Rory noticed his arm was around River's waist, and her arm around his.

"But… the virus. What happened to it? Is it still in her?"

"Yes. And in you, too. Maybe in River and I as well," he said with a shrug. Rory gasped.

"Oh, god, what do we-," he started, then he realized the Doctor was smiling. "Spare me the clever remarks and impressive vocabulary and just tell me what's going on."

The Doctor recognized the protective centurion-Rory-worried-about-his-wife look and decided to cut to the chase. "Well, if you must know, the virus had only one option, really. We wouldn't take it to earth, and nobody was going to love it here, so it spread itself thin, so thin that it's not even really there, just another harmless particle in our bodies. I love River, and it's in River so it's loved, and River loves me, and it's in me so it's loved, and it's in you and Amy as well, so it's plenty happy now. I doubt it'll cause us any trouble, or it'll lose that love it's got." He frowned. "It's a little Barney the Dinosaur, but at least it worked out. Now, I suggest you put her to bed and head for the kitchen- I bet she would love to wake up to some French toast, because I know that's what I would absolutely love to have right now."

"You ought to follow your own advice. A rest and some food would be good for you, considering that you were on your deathbed a little while ago too," River said, pulling out of the Doctor's embrace and heading for the corridors. "Let's head for the pantry before your adrenaline runs out and I have to carry you."

"Will there be jelly babies?" the Doctor asked excitedly, jogging a few steps to catch up to her and slip his arm back around her waist, fingers clutching her hip possessively. You couldn't fit a hair between their sides, so close together they were.

"Of course! It's _your_ pantry, of course there are jelly babies. Honestly, it's a wonder you haven't rotted your teeth out yet, or gotten sick before…" River's voice trailed off as the pair departed.

**The last chapter is the real conclusion, tying up the rest of the loose ends. Once again, thank you!**

**I do not own Doctor who.**


	17. Back to 'Normal'

**The final chapter. Once again, I would like to thank you all for your support and loyalty! You guys are great! If you want to see more of my writing, then check out my profile. I've got two other stories, one for Doctor Who, and one for the Mentalist, if you watch that. They are:**

**-Midnight II: Possession: The Doctor revisits the 'relaxation' spa with Amy and Rory. Leaving the mystery unsolved the first time was a mistake that he will pay for. (Some Doctor whump, COMPLETE.)**

**-Jane and Ruskin: Two carnie kids, destined to be married. This is the story of how Patrick Jane met his dearly beloved Angela.**

**Thank you all so much!**

"Will there be jelly babies?" the Doctor asked excitedly, jogging a few steps to catch up to her and slip his arm back around her waist, fingers clutching her hip possessively. You couldn't fit a hair between their sides, so close together they were.

"Of course! It's _your_ pantry, of course there are jelly babies. Honestly, it's a wonder you haven't rotted your teeth out yet, or gotten sick before…" River's voice trailed off as the pair departed. Rory smiled and bent over his wife, wrapping her in his arms and picking her up gently, wobbling a bit under her weight but bearing it with joy.

"Time for bed, Amy. I'm exhausted, and you are too. Obviously," he said with a little laugh. His face sobered. "You really had me worried… I'm glad you're okay." It felt as though his chest was swelling with love for her. His Amy was okay. He loved her. Loved her. _Love her_, something deep within him whispered in reaffirmation.

_Love him,_ the same voice replied in Amy's sleeping mind.

MNMNMNMNMNMNMNMN

"Whoever first invented French toast- I would love to shake their hand," the Doctor said the next day as he bustled around the controls.

"You already did that," River commented, leaning against the railing. Amy and Rory were somewhere else in the TARDIS, doing who-knows-what, and the time couple had just dropped Ood-Sigma off with much gratitude and apology. (The H-S1 had left him with a terrible headache.)

"Exactly, which is why I can't do it again," he said mournfully. River laughed and stepped up to the console. She typed something in the typewriter, hit a button, and pulled the yellow lever before the Doctor could react.

"Excuse me, you could at least _ask_ before you fly my ship off to destinations unknown," the Doctor grumbled. River smiled.

"Sorry, sweetie, but I think we have an appointment."

"An _appointment_. What?" he repeated. "With who? Since when do I do appointments? I don't plan stuff. Spontaneous, that's me. None of this… _appointment_ garbage."

"Oh, come on, Doctor. You got sick from some ancient eradicated Time Lord disease."

"It could've been the Daleks, I wouldn't be surprised if the Cybermen had it, or the Weeping Angels, or even the Slitheen… it wasn't like it was kept secret. The very idea of someone using it as a weapon against the Time Lords… well, the wrath of Galifrey wasn't something any creatures would risk. Anyways, it was too volatile to be used as a weapon properly," he said with a shrug. River raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"Think, Doctor."

"Do I ever stop?" he said dryly. He rubbed his forehead and sat in his chair, crossing his legs. "Okay, so who wants me dead enough to risk the disease mutating and spreading?"

"Too broad of a question. There are far too many people and animals and etcetera to go through. Try again," River advised. He huffed.

"Who would've had access to it?"

"Closer," River hinted. "The disease is the key."

"Well of course it is," he scoffed. "While you're busy showing off that you found something out before I did, someone out there is trying to _kill me_ and the people I love."

"Keep guessing, you're almost there." He was silent for a moment, thinking fast.

"Who… who would've been able to infect me with it?" he asked. River patted the back of his hand, and he took it as a sign that he was on the right track. "How is it spread? It said that it was spread like strep throat or mon-," he broke off, swallowing, staring at River with wide eyes, "-o. Oh."

"See? It wasn't that hard to figure out. I said I got vaccinated, and you need a sample of the disease to make a vaccine. And… well, if it spreads like the kissing disease, maybe a bit easier, then-,"

"Okay, okay, I get it. Madame Kovarian. Ew. To think she's planned on that… and she knows that we, well, kiss… Euugh," He wrinkled his nose. "And you! You're like a, a… dementor, or something. Hallucinogenic lipstick, poison lipstick, carrier of a deadly disease spread by kissing, good lord, woman! … Speaking of which, will I get it again if we…?"

"No, it was sort of a one-time use thing. The dormant virus isn't in me anymore. It's safe," she said cheerfully, pecking him on the lips as proof. "And I'm not wearing lipstick today."

"Right. Good choice. So… what to do about Madame Kovarian," he mumbled half-heartedly, staring down at River with that sleepy, loving look that she liked so much.

"Hmm. Well, I've had one hell of an afternoon. My Doctor almost died, Jack Harkness threatened to shoot me, my mum got sick, and almost died and _then_ threatened to shoot me too… You know what I really need after a day like this?" she muttered back, a small, mischievous smile turning up the corners of her lips.

"What would that be?" the Doctor said, a slow smile on his face as he half-sat on the console, hands loosely on either side of him. River laughed.

"I would _really_ like to shoot someone." She turned and walked out the door, drawing her gun. The Doctor stared after her with the same silly, loving look, then jumped as he fully realized what was going on. He charged after her.

"Wait, River-!"

_**Fin**_

_-Redfeatherz_


End file.
